Never Tear Us Apart
by Swimming the Same Deep Waters
Summary: When Rose said she'd never let anything happen to Dimitri, she didn't realize how soon she'd have to prove her words. Finding herself in a situation she didn't anticipate, Rose struggles to reconcile her future and her past.
1. Chapter 1

Everyone was jumpy after the attack on the school and subsequent rescue mission. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see the blond Strigoi pulling Dimitri back into the caves, and me head butting Stan Alto to escape his grasp and run back to save my mentor.

I'd got there just in time to stake the surprised Strigoi, earning myself another molnija, before helping Dimitri out into the last of the sunlight. We were some distance from the wards, and the light was fading fast. I could hear the Strigoi gathering at the opening to the cave, waiting for the sun's last rays to fade before following us. With so many Strigoi gathered in one place, anyone outside the wards would be a sitting duck once night fell. Dimitri was exhausted, and wounded, but had the presence of mind to move as quickly as he could. But still, it wasn't going to be fast enough. We could _see_ the line of trees that demarcated the ward line, and were stumbling towards it, when I heard the running start behind us. The gleeful howls that jubilantly announced our destruction. It looked like we had survived the battle only to be killed in our retreat.

The Strigoi were almost upon us, and I was about to turn to make a last stand when bright floodlights lit up the grass we were running across. So bright it was almost blinding, I ran toward it anyway, pulling Dimitri along with me. Light was no friend to the undead, but it could be our savior. Using every last bit of energy we had, we ran until I felt arms close around me. My mother. We'd made it back behind the wards. Both of us.

"What the _hell_ do you think you were doing?" my mother, renowned Guardian Janine Hathaway shouted at the top of her lungs, nonetheless hugging me tightly. "You could have been killed! You could have been turned!" Her Scottish accent was getting more pronounced by the second; a surefire way to tell she was incensed.

Over my mother's shoulder, I could see Dimitri being eased onto a stretcher, four Guardians struggling to lift him. It wasn't that he was fat – far from it. He was six foot seven, and a wall of muscle. I caught his weary, thankful smile as they carted him off toward the infirmary.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I said, happy to be as apologetic as she wanted, now I knew my love was safe. "I just knew I could get him out, you know?"

"No! I _don't_ know! If Ms. Carmack and hadn't had the presence of mind to set up the lights, things could have ended very differently," my mother was growling, although her voice was now softening significantly. "You scared the _shit_ out of me!" she finally whispered, stroking my hair in a gesture that surprised both of us.

After that she walked me up to the infirmary, personally handing me over to Dr. Olendzki before heading to the Guardian Lounge for the official debriefing. The doctor gave me a quick once over before declaring me uninjured and dismissing me. Her skills were rightly needed elsewhere. Once she'd released me, I checked the infirmary bay by bay until I found the one containing my Comrade. Someone had got him out of his uniform and into a hospital gown. Lying on the bed beneath a cotton blanket, his eyes were closed, and there was an IV pole with a drip suspended feeding him a clear liquid drip by drip. But he was alive, and honestly, he looked better than I'd feared.

Drawing the curtain closed behind me, I slipped into his cubicle, pulling the single chair across to his bedside. I was reaching to grasp his hand when his eyelids fluttered open.

"Roza," he whispered, his voice hoarse, one of his hands reaching out to grasp mine.

"Comrade," I said with a smile, yet with tears welling in my eyes. "I thought I was going to lose you!"

"You shouldn't have come back for me," he admonished, his voice raspy, echoing my mother's words as she'd brought me to the infirmary. She'd been livid I'd risked myself to save Dimitri.

"Well I did, so deal with it," I said with more spirit than I'd intended. I softened my tone before I continued. "I couldn't watch you die, Dimitri." I looked around carefully before I whispered, "I love you - I couldn't leave you there!"

"Thank you," he said with a sweet smile. "I love you too, Roza."

It had been less than forty-eight hours since we'd made love in the cabin, but it was a relief to hear him say those words again. To know that he still cared. It was a new sensation, being loved. But I adored it! I leaned forward and quickly brushed my lips across his. It was a lot less than either of us wanted, but he was injured, and we could be interrupted at any moment, so we needed to be careful.

"Are you very hurt?" I whispered, trying to sneak a look at his neck, but his hair was covering most of it.

"Not very," he reassured me. "A bit of blood loss, badly bruised ribs and a sprained ankle."

"That's why you couldn't run back so fast," I commented.

He shrugged. "I made it, thanks to you."

He looked at me with such love and devotion, and I knew the same feelings were on my face for him to see. All his lessons had been intended to help me save myself – but they'd ended up saving him, too. I was terrified by the what ifs; by just how close I'd come to losing him. But I hadn't lost him, and for that I'd be forever grateful.

I was still sitting holding Dimitri's hand when I heard approaching footsteps. By the time we heard the rasp of the curtain being pulled back, Dimitri was lying peacefully doing a credible impersonation of being asleep, and I was leaning back in my chair looking like I was dozing.

"Rose? What are you still doing here?" Dr. Olendzki quizzed, looking at me in surprise.

"Just waiting for Belikov to wake up," I said quickly. "Thought I'd check if he needed anything."

Dimitri feigned waking up, looking at the doctor and then me.

"Rose? Is everything ok?" he asked.

"All good. Just checking you're still alive. Do you need anything? How long are you in for?"

My love turned to Dr. Olendzki questioningly.

"You'll need to rest for a few days, but all going well you'll be ready to be released tomorrow," she said with a kindly expression.

The next day, my Russian God was indeed released. It was humbling to see him using a cane and navigating the many stairs to his room so slowly. He wouldn't admit it, but he'd been more injured in the raid than he'd let on.

He refused to let me help him, so I trailed behind carrying the small bag one of the Guardians had brought down with a spare set of clothes and his toiletries. Getting his text that he'd been released, I'd run to the infirmary, then slowly trailed him up to his dorm room, keeping up chatter the whole way and pretending not to notice just how incapacitated my beloved was.

Due to the attack, every available Guardian had been pressed into service, so we were unobserved as we walked the stairs and hallways to his room. Once there, I set up the bed ready for him while he moved into the bathroom to shave and shower. While I was _more_ than willing to help him with those tasks, too, he closed the door firmly, leaving me to plump his pillows while muttering dispiritedly.

Emerging clean, shaven, and smelling delicious, he was wearing a loose TShirt and a pair of flannelette pajama bottoms. I hadn't thought anything could look sexier than his Guardian uniform. Oh, _boy_ , had I been wrong! His wet hair was untied, concealing the bandage covering the bite mark on his neck, but the loose hair made him look younger and, if possible, even more handsome. Shyly climbing into bed and spreading the bedcovers over his hips and legs, he leaned up against the headboard and pillows I'd placed for him, noticing I'd placed his laptop, phone and charger, a glass of water and several books within easy reach.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" he asked softly, giving me a tender, loving look.

"Afraid not, Comrade. Classes are canceled until further notice. A lot of parents are recalling their children home, so the Guardians are busy organizing that. Mom, Alberta and the other senior Guardians are trying to work out how to ensure the safety of the school, and everyone else has been confined to their dorm buildings except to attend meals. Alberta was worried about you getting up and down the stairs for food, so she's asked me to look after you for the next few days as she can't spare a Guardian."

Dimitri lifted an eyebrow dubiously.

"It's true!" I swore crossly. I would have suggested it if Alberta hadn't, but I hadn't needed to. While she might not appreciate just _how_ close Dimitri and I had become, she knew she could rely on me to bring him food and keep an eye on him while he was incapacitated. Which is _exactly_ what I intended on doing.

"Now sit back," I ordered, carefully climbing onto the bed beside to him. The Strigoi bite and bruising were on his right-hand side, so I sat on his left and shimmied over until I was pressed hard up against his left-hand side. Fetching his laptop from the bedside, I switched it on and showed him two DVD titles.

"I thought we could watch both," I explained, putting the DVDs in front of him, "but you get to choose which first," I finished gleefully.

"Roza…" he said, exasperated. "How can you even compare these two movies?"

"I'm not," I growled. "Now shut up and choose, or it's going to be Twilight!"

" _Twilight?"_ he asked in confusion.

"Trust me; you don't want that," I laughed.

"I've seen Twilight," he said in that infuriatingly calm voice of his.

"Really?" I asked in surprise.

"Sisters," he said by way of explanation with a smirk. "My sister Sonya thinks the lead actor is hot. I didn't think that would be your sort of movie?"

I snorted. "It isn't! Lissa thinks it's 'romantic'!" I said the last word in a tone of voice that left no doubt about what I thought about the movie. "She's watched it at least a dozen times."

"So it's _The Good, the Bad and the Ugly_ or _The Hunger Games?"_ Dimitri asked, looking at the two titles, one fondly the other with suspicion.

"It is. Choose which one you want to start with," I said firmly. "If we get too bored watching, we could always make out," I tempted.

Dimitri made a sexy growl before taking _The Hunger Games_ out of its case and sliding it into the DVD drive on his laptop. Balancing the computer on his lap, he lifted his arm to me, and I cuddled against his chest as the opening credits started to roll. A few minutes in, Dimitri was looking interested despite himself.

"So do you like?" I asked in an opportune moment between dialogue.

"I do," he said in surprise. "I like the lead. Her hair reminds me of yours, but you're much prettier."

I smiled and leaned up to place a gentle kiss along his freshly shaved jaw line.

"You're much more handsome," I said, gesturing to the young man hunting game on the screen at the time. "Can you use a bow and arrow?"

"I've never tried," he admitted with a chuckle. "But I'm deadly with a slingshot!"

"Really?" I asked a little breathlessly. The thought of Dimitri with a slingshot was strangely sexy.

"Yes," he laughed, enjoying my admiration. "I'll teach you sometime," he promised, dropping a tender kiss into my hair before snuggling me closer to him and returning his attention to the movie.

It was late afternoon by the time we'd finished both films. I'd done a run to the kitchens procuring lunch for each of us, but now Dimitri was starting to look tired.

"Do you want to rest?" I asked, noticing his drooping eyelids.

"A few minutes lie down would be nice," he conceded.

"Do you want me to go?" I asked, hopeful he'd say no.

"Stay until dinner," he suggested, repositioning the pillows so we could lie down comfortably together. He lay on his back, and I cuddled against him, my head resting on his shoulder, almost over his heart.

* * *

"Shit, Roza – wake up!" Dimitri hissed, sitting up in bed and wincing as his ribs twinged.

I woke up instantly, rubbing my eyes and noticing the red-tinged sunlight peeping around the edge of his blinds. Like mine, his window faced west, so I recognized a sunset when I saw one. We must have slept through the Moroi night together. We looked at one another in shock. I'd just spent the night in my Guardian boyfriend's dorm room!

"Crap," I grumbled. "I've got to get out of here!"

Springing out of bed I quickly fixed my hair as best I was able, trying to smooth my rumpled clothing. It was just past 6 pm. Early, but with the campus on alert, every Guardian would be up already or getting up by now.

"If anyone spots me, you texted to ask me to bring you a book from your locker in the gym, ok?" I said quickly, kneeling on the bed to give my love a quick kiss. "I'll go downstairs, be seen at breakfast, then I'll change and bring you up some food."

"Shouldn't you be spending time with your friends?" Dimitri asked. "They must be missing you?"

A quick peek into Lissa's head showed me I wasn't the only one who'd slept next to their love last night. Hauling myself out of her mind before I saw anything I didn't want to, I returned my focus to Dimitri. "Not at all," I laughed. "Lissa and Christian are down with this new arrangement," I said flashing him a meaningful grin. "And Adrian was bundled onto the first flight to Court after the attack. What do you want for breakfast?" I asked curiously. He usually ate at one of the Guardian tables, so I didn't get to see his selections.

"Fruit salad, bacon, eggs, toast, mushrooms and orange juice. I'll make coffee here," he said, gesturing to a coffee machine on the counter in his hotel room style kitchenette.

"Got it. Anything else you want while I'm downstairs?" I asked, getting slightly distracted by Dimitri's disheveled bed hair, and how sexy he looked sitting there in his pajama bottoms and TShirt.

"No, I'm good," he said with a smile.

Returning his smile, I stood close to the door, listening for sounds of movement in the hallway. Hearing nothing, I slipped outside, closing the door soundlessly behind me. I'd made it halfway to the stairs when a door opened just in front of me, someone stepping out into the otherwise empty corridor.

"Rosemarie? What are you doing here? Were you looking for me?"

"I was, actually," I lied. "I thought you might like to have breakfast with me?"

"Oh. Um, yes that would be fine," my mother replied. Since the events of Spokane, Mom and I had been making a bigger effort, but we still didn't have the easy, natural mother/daughter relationship other people seemed to enjoy. My mother was always Guardian Hathaway first, a mother second. Still - she was here, so I might as well take the opportunity to spend time with her.

"I hope you're using the time off classes profitably?" she asked as we were standing in line for our food.

"I am," I said, suspecting her idea of 'profitably' varied dramatically from mine. "Alberta's got me running errands for her while she's busy, and she wants me to write up my kill reports for the battle and the rescue. I know you and Dimitri did mine for Spokane."

My mother nodded in acknowledgment.

"It's good to get the experience," she said brusquely, never one to dwell on the sentimental. "You should check with Guardian Belikov to make sure your reports line up for the rescue. I find it easier to write down my own recollections first, then discuss the particulars," she advised.

"I'll do that," I promised, pleased to have yet one more reason to hang out with Dimitri.

We were at the head of the queue, so loaded our trays with food. Mom trudged off toward the Guardian eating section, and since we were supposed to be breakfasting together, I followed. We sat opposite one another at the vacant end of a table, only looking a little awkward as we started our meals.

"It was foolish running back after Belikov," Janine said between mouthfuls of toast. "If you hadn't managed to take that Strigoi by surprise, you could be dead now."

"If I hadn't gone back Dimitri would be dead now. I knew I could do it, Mom."

"You were lucky," she snapped, causing a few heads to turn curiously.

"Yes, I was. And one day I won't be. But this time I was," I admitted. "Soon this is going to be my job, Mom. I've already made kills. Rightly or wrongly it's my call."

"It can all happen so fast, Rosemarie. One moment a colleague is there. A friend. And then they're gone. Gone in an instant." Her eyes were open, but they weren't looking at me. My mother was lost in her own thoughts, remembering people I'd never known.

"I know that too, Mom" I whispered, my thoughts drifting to the friend I'd lost in an instant at Spokane. Mason.

"Yes. Yes, of course you do," my mother said sadly, her eyes returning to meet mine.

"Are you going to be around for long this time?" I asked, trying to change the course of the conversation.

"I'm not sure," she said, her eyes dipping away from mine as she cut up her food. "The School Council is still trying to work out how to respond to the threat." Something about the way she wouldn't meet my eyes, and the tone of her voice, alerted me that she wasn't telling the truth - or at least not the _entire_ truth. It wasn't surprising; as a senior Guardian my mother was of course privy to the sort of information Novices weren't.

We finished our breakfast in silence, if not exactly comfortable in one another's presence at least not uncomfortable. And from where we'd been in the past, that was a vast improvement.

"Have a bit of rest over the next few days too, Rosemarie. Spend some time with your friends. Relax a little." She looked like she wanted to say more, but didn't.

"Sure thing," I smiled, curious about what she wasn't telling me.

"I'll see you later," she said, standing up and walking to the exit, discarding her rubbish and neatly stacking her dishes in the washing trays.

Following her example I stood up and did likewise, walking towards my dorm to shower and change before coming back to get Dimitri his breakfast.


	2. Chapter 2

The next three days were wonderful. The day after Dimitri was released from hospital, the restrictions on student movements were lifted. Since there were so many places I could possibly be, and there were still no classes, it was way too easy for me to spend hours in my Russian God's bedroom - which is exactly what I did.

We spent most of the third morning after the rescue making out. While Dimitri's ribs still bothered him, it wasn't enough to keep us away from each other. We'd discovered him leaning against the bedhead, me straddling his lap, was the perfect position. Provided I was gentle with his right side it didn't hurt him, and it left all our _other_ areas free to touch.

We'd been fully clothed, but slowly divested each other of garments until finally we were in our underwear – two thin pieces of cotton all that was separating us from once again being one. Dimitri's long sensuous fingers were already at the edge of my panties when a bang of a door closing, then the muffled sounds of Guardians talking as they walked along the hallway past the room distracted him.

"We can't do this, Rose," Dimitri groaned between heated kisses.

"But I want to!" I moaned, rocking my hips against his. "I want to so much! I burn for you!"

"I do, too. But you're seventeen years old and my student! I _can't_ Roza!"

"It didn't stop you the other day!" I snapped in frustration.

"I know, but it should have. I shouldn't have let myself do what I did. It was…"

"A mistake?" I supplied, feeling as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped on me. "You think being with me was a mistake?"

I climbed off his lap, hastily grabbing my bra and pulling it on before adding my shirt and pulling back on my jeans. Tears were already in my eyes, so I turned away so he wouldn't see them.

"I didn't _say_ that, Rose," he growled, pulling the quilt up to cover the bulge in his boxers that showed how much he'd wanted it, too. "I was going to say irresponsible!"

"You regret it, don't you?" I whispered.

"I regret the impossible situation it puts us in. But I could never regret being with you, Rose. I love you, but we can't do this again until you graduate."

"But that's three and a half months away," I wailed. "Do you really think we're going to be able to stop ourselves loving until then?"

"I don't think I'll ever be able to stop myself loving you," Dimitri said, running his hand over his face in exasperation. "But we need to not act on it. Physically."

"But I'm eighteen in two days!"

"It's not just your age, Roza. I'm employed as a Guardian, and part of my role is to teach you. If we get caught my career would be over, and the same with yours – before it even got started."

I still had my back to him. I didn't want him to see the traitorous tears leaking from my eyes.

"Roza?" he implored, moving painfully across the bed and catching my hand within his. "It's not forever, I promise. Just a few more months then we're free to be together."

He pulled me back to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Can I kiss you at least?" I asked petulantly.

"In private, of course you can," he said. "We just need to be careful. Your mother is probably already suspicious after you ran back into the caves to save me."

He was right, of course. Mom might not pay me a lot of attention, but she wasn't stupid.

"Which is why you need to spend the rest of the day with your friends! Go hang out with them, and I'll see you at the assembly this evening," he suggested.

"Do you have any idea what it's about?" I asked, momentarily distracted from my disappointment of not being able to be with him.

"None at all. Alberta wants to see me beforehand, so I'll no doubt find out then – but I suspect it's about classes resuming."

* * *

"Where have you been hiding?" Lissa said, throwing her arms around me. "I've barely seen you in days!"

"Sorry, Liss. Alberta's had me doing errands while everything's so mixed up," I said truthfully, not adding I doubted Alberta had expected me to be _quite_ so diligent in the performance of my duties. "Where is everyone?"

We were in the cafeteria, and it was less than a quarter full.

"Some people are in their dorms, but a lot of people have gone home. Alberta's had the Novices helping them move stuff for days."

Not for the first time I admired Alberta's shrewdness. If she'd asked me to help some indulged Royal move their boxes, a good amount of their stuff would have ended up broken. That's probably why she asked me to take care of Dimitri instead.

"I'd say over half the Moroi have gone home already, and more are leaving today," she continued.

"So many?"

"A lot of parents are freaked out," she explained. "They're saying St. Vladimir's is no longer safe."

Looking around, I could see it was almost exclusively non-Royals, or those without parents or close family to go to left.

"Anyone we know leaving?" I asked casually.

"Christian might be," Lissa said looking sad. "Tasha hinted he should go to Minneapolis to stay with her, at least until things are sorted out here."

"But that will be a week or two max, right?" I asked in surprise.

"I don't know about that, Rose. Some of the kids who left are leaving to go to other academies or to study off campus. It might be for the rest of the school year?"

I sat picking at my food thinking it over. While I held no great love for St. Vladimir's, it was still the only home I had. If so many students moved elsewhere, they might not be able to warrant keeping so many Guardians stationed here, in which case the campus would close. And it's not like I had anywhere else to go.

Before I could get started in on a pity-party for one, Christian came into the cafeteria grinning madly.

"Hey!" he said, giving Lissa a dazzling smile. "Rose," he acknowledged.

"Hey pyro. You're looking happy with yourself?" I said, only a little abrasively. Since Spokane, we'd actually found a new appreciation for each other. But I still had appearances to maintain.

"I _am_ happy!" he said, turning to face Lissa. "I have good news!"

Lissa smiled sweetly, although I could feel through the bond she was worried that what _he_ saw as good news might not be good news for her.

"I just got off the phone to Tasha, and she's arranged for she and I to go to Court until all this blows over… And the good news is, _you can come too!"_

Lissa squealed with excitement, and I could feel her elation flood the bond.

"Oh my Vlad! What? How?" she gasped.

"Well…." Christian drawled, drawing it out now he had Lissa's attention, "My parents actually owned a house at Court. We never go there, but it has five bedrooms. Tasha said there'd be plenty of room for me, you and she's asked the academy to send two Guardians. She's requested Guardians Belikov and Matthews so you'll have Guardians you're familiar with. It looks like the school might be closing for the rest of the academic year, so we can continue our studies at the Moroi school at Court! The best thing is, we leave tomorrow!"

Lissa threw her arms around Christian's neck, overjoyed. Through the bond I could see she was already imagining the two of them spending plenty of romantic time together. As for me? I'd never been so grateful the bond was only one way. I'd been suspicious of the way Tasha had appeared to give Dimitri up so easily at New Years. It hadn't made sense to me, and now I could see how she'd cleverly used the attack at St. Vlad's to her advantage. I had no doubt that Tasha planned to spend the next three and a half months convincing Dimitri to take her offer and stay with her permanently.

Finally pulling back from each other, and remembering they weren't alone, Lissa's eyes fell to me.

"Will Rose be able to come, too?" she asked, suddenly noticing my downcast expression and it occurring to her that if the school closed, I'd be homeless.

"I don't think so," Christian said nervously. "It's not that Tasha wasn't willing," he said loyally, although personally I suspected that was _exactly_ the problem, "but from what she said, if the school closes, Novices will be sent to other academies to finish their training. They don't want to hold up the Dhampir graduating."

Yeah. Of course they didn't. Guardian numbers were low enough already. They'd do whatever it took to get the next batch graduated and on duty as soon as possible. Hell – if it weren't that we hadn't had our final gradings, and our all important scores calculated, I bet they'd have graduated us already.

"It's not so bad," Lissa said, looking at where I sat holding back tears. "It's only three and a half months – it will fly in no time," she consoled, although it didn't escape my attention that she was coping with the idea of being without me for a few months better than she had when she thought it was Christian she'd be without. But then my tears were mostly at the prospect of being without Dimitri and probably losing him forever. I was just lucky enough that _my_ inner thoughts were my own.

"It will be great," I said, yanking a smile onto my face, not wanting to guilt her out. "Hopefully they'll send me somewhere really cool. Maybe Peru? I heard there's a Dhampir training college there. I can't wait!"

Christian was fooled, but Lissa wasn't.

"Come help me pack my stuff?" Lissa asked me gently, giving Christian a look.

"Maybe later," I said noncommittally, my smile not faltering. "I should go visit Alberta and see where they're planning to send me."

"Maybe your Mom will know? You could ask her?" Lissa suggested.

"I doubt it," I said, trying not to sound bitter. "With so much going on, I don't think she'll have had the time to think about where I'm going to end up. I'll come help you pack later," I promised, walking slowly out of the cafeteria, then sprinting across the lawn to the Guardians' dorm block.

I knocked on Dimitri's door but there was no response. Waiting a moment, I tried again, but still nothing. He was probably meeting with Alberta; he'd said he had a meeting with her this afternoon.

I ran back downstairs, taking the stairs two at a time and nearly bowling over Perkins and King on the second landing.

"What's the hurry, Hathaway?" Perkins shouted at my retreating back.

"Just looking for my Mom," I lied, not breaking stride.

"She's in Alberta's office with Alto, Matthews and Belikov," he yelled back. "But I'd leave them to it – I could hear the shouting from the hallway!"

Shouting? Maybe Dimitri was refusing to go to Court with Lissa? But it didn't seem likely. To do so would only draw attention to his motivations, and he could hardly say he didn't want to go there because he wanted to stay with me. Still, if they were discussing my future, I deserved some buy in! I was in the hallway approaching Alberta's office when the door opened; Alberta, Mom, Alto, Matthews and Dimitri stepping out.

"Mom! You got a minute?" I called out, hurrying over to where she'd stopped, Alberta and Dimitri likewise stopping.

"I'm afraid not Rosemarie," she said and started moving again.

"But Christian just told me the campus is probably closing and everyone's being sent away. Since this is my home, I was wondering where me and the other orphans would be going?"

My mother stopped dead in her tracks, spinning to glare at me.

"You are _not_ an orphan," she said, her eyes widening in shock and hurt.

Great. I'd offended her and I hadn't even intended to.

"I know. Sorry. I just meant what's going to happen to those of us who don't have a home or family to go to?"

Mom flinched, and I could tell I was just making it worse. Behind her back I could see Dimitri subtly shaking his head, telling me to leave it.

"Provisions will be made for every student," my mother said tightly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to attend the Guardians' briefing." She turned her back on me, following the other Guardians to the Guardians' Lounge. Dimitri followed, but not before shooting me what I suspect was meant to be a soothing, reassuring look. Truth be told, that frightened me more than anything my mother had said.

I wandered across the lawn, trying to calm my thoughts as I made my way to Lissa's dorm room. Of course, she was freaking out. Not knowing whether she should be packing up her entire dorm room, or if she should be packing just for a week or two, she had worked herself into a frenzy.

"If I'm leaving St. Vladimir's forever tomorrow, I need to work out what to do with all my stuff," she wailed. This was a problem. As the only daughter in a wealthy Royal family, before their death Lissa's family had spoiled her with every conceivable luxury. Her dorm room would take days to pack, and she'd need to figure where to store all her furniture and boxes.

"If you're leaving tomorrow, let's start with your toiletries and clothes," I suggested reasonably. "Either way you'll need them. If they _are_ closing the campus, it should be ok to leave the rest of your stuff here and send for it later on once you know where you're going to end up. You could have anything you don't need sent to your old house?"

When Lissa's family had died in the crash that also killed me, their home in Montana had been packed up ready for Lissa to decide what she wanted to do with it once she came of age. It was a huge house, and there'd be plenty of space there to store whatever she didn't immediately want.

"You're right," Lissa said, as I hauled her suitcases down from the top of her closet. "Did you end up finding where you're going?"

"No. Mom was in a meeting with Alberta, Stan, Dimitri and Matthews and I caught her in the hallway on the way to the Guardians' briefing. I asked her what was going to happen to me and the other orphans, but she just got all shitty and snapped that I wasn't an orphan."

"She has a point," Lissa said coolly. Through the bond I could tell she, who really _was_ an orphan, had also taken exception to what I'd said.

Shit. In the space of an hour I'd offended my mother _and_ my best friend.

"I know that. It was a poor choice of words," I soothed. "I meant those of us who grew up as the wards of St. Vlad's and don't have anywhere else to go."

Lissa's ire immediately disappeared. Yes she might be an orphan, but despite me having a living mother, I'd basically grown up as one.

"I'm sure they've worked out something suitable," Lissa said with an optimism I didn't share.

"Yeah, that's what Mom said," I replied, trying to mimic Lissa's positive feelings.

We spent the next hour and a half packing, starting with the spring and summer clothes Lissa would likely need first.

"There's no point packing your winter stuff. If you're leaving your other things, you can come back and get it all at the same time," I suggested, walking around her room and picking out the various photos, teddy bears and other family memorabilia I knew she wouldn't be able to live without.

"It's going to be weird spending so long without you," Lissa finally said, watching as I paced around her room.

"You'll be _fine!"_ I reassured her. "You'll have Christian, Tasha, and Adrian and you'll have a ball at Court!"

Suitably diverted, Lissa spent the rest of the time we were packing outlining the places she wanted to explore. By the time we walked down to the senior school assembly, where my fate would presumably be revealed, she was in a great mood.

"There's Christian!" Lissa chirped happily, pulling me through the Dhampir section to sit at the front where the Royal Moroi usually sat. Not that there was much competition for seats; the section was all but deserted.

"All packed?" Christian asked Lissa, blessing her with a happy grin.

"Sure am!" she replied with a glowing smile, leaning forward to give Christian a gentle kiss.

I was busy looking at the stage where the Guardians were starting to assemble. Almost everyone was there when I saw Dimitri walk in as part of a group that included Townsend, Matthews, Nguyen, Perkins, Fernandes and my mother. Wasting no time, they lined up in a double row at the back of the stage; my mother at the front due to her short stature, Dimitri at the back for the opposite reason. His eyes were roaming the crowd, working their way through the Dhampir section at the back of the hall where he expected to find me. I could see his brow crease infinitesimally as he couldn't locate me, before his eyes locked with mine where I sat in the front row beside Lissa.

He gave me a look I couldn't decipher. Soothing but at the same time wary. I had a feeling that whatever it meant it didn't bode well for the next few months.

Silence descended as Kirova stepped up to the lectern.

"School community – I know you, like I, have been shocked by the events of the last week. For the first time in our noble history, a direct attack was enacted on main campus. Thanks to the brave and diligent work of our Guardians, and some of our staff and students, the attack was repulsed and a recovery mission was undertaken to rescue those taken. I am happy to announce that this was largely successful, and that losses were kept to a minimum."

I tuned out for a few moments as she read the list of Royal Moroi, Moroi, Guardians and Novices lost, in that order. Just another way of reinforcing where my kind stood in the grand scheme of things. It wasn't that I disinterested in those that lost their lives. I just couldn't think about it without getting emotional. I'd known most of those lost.

"… so the School Council has decided to close the school until the beginning of the school year to ameliorate the risk presented by the caves, and ensure the safety of our campus community. Arrangements have been made for all Moroi students. The majority will be returning home to their families or transferring to other academies for the duration of the academic year. Please return to your dormitories where your house matron will provide further details if your family have not already done so. Now I will hand over to Guardian Petrov who will outline the relocation plan for the Novices."

Wow. They were actually doing it. They were closing down the school. My heart was beating fast as my eyes flicked up to where Dimitri was standing, his Guardian mask yanked firmly into place. I couldn't believe it had come to this.

"Thank you Principal Kirova," Alberta said, stepping up to the lectern. "With the campus closing, the majority of Novices are being transferred to other American academies for the rest of the academic year. We have been in touch with parents, and where possible we will be sending Novices to the campus closest to their home, but in some cases this has not proven to be possible. Please rest assured you will not be sent to a new school alone. Every academy is taking at least twenty students, in many cases more. Additionally, each campus will take several Guardians and teaching staff from St. Vlad's. You will have friends and teachers you know wherever you end up.

"At the end of this assembly, there will be lists posted by year on the outside doors. These will outline where you are being sent. Please understand that every care has been put into creating these lists, and the allocations are final. Senior Novices, please stay behind. Assembly is dismissed."

The younger Novices rushed from the hall, eager to find out where they were being sent. The Moroi filed out in a more orderly fashion – most of them had already spoken to their parents and had their plans in place.

Lissa squeezed my hand supportively. _Come to my dorm room once you know where you're going_ she said through the bond, noticing my tense, worried face. I nodded and gave her a wan smile before returning my attention to Alberta.

"Seniors. As graduating students, particular care and thought has been put into your allocations. No one academy could take on so many final year students, so you will be divided between the teaching academies. For some, this means you will be going overseas to complete your Novice studies at St. Christopher's, St. Basil's, Croxton or The Glen."

There were surprised mumbles from the crowd. _This_ was unexpected. Most Dhampir were poor, so the opportunity to travel overseas was unexpected and for the most part welcome.

"We have carefully looked at your strengths and weaknesses, and your destination academies have been worked out accordingly. It is our hope that we can turn this unfortunate circumstance into a plus by sending you to academies where you will get extra support in the areas of training in which you are the weakest. The list of your destinations will also be posted on the outside doors. Please stay behind Novices Ayett, Castile, Edwards and Hathaway."


	3. Chapter 3

As the rest of the Senior Novices exited, so did most of the Guardians. In the end, there was only Alberta, Mom, Stan, and Dimitri left on the stage in front of Blake Ayett, Eddie Castile, Meredith Edwards and myself.

"Let's take this to a meeting room," Alberta said, walking off the stage and back to the administration building. I was trying to catch Dimitri or my mother's eye, but both were walking beside Alberta and resolutely not looking at me. I fell into step beside Eddie, shrugging my shoulders when he muttered "What the fuck?" under his breath.

"Please take a seat," Alberta said, opening the door to a Guardians' meeting room. I'd only been in this one a couple of times – each time for a disciplinary hearing, I recalled ominously.

Seating myself between Eddie and Meredith, I schooled my face into a calm expectant mask although I was shitting myself. Meredith and Eddie being here was a good sign, Blake, and Alto not so much.

"I'm sure you're wondering why we've asked to see you," Alberta said, taking a seat at the table. "We've asked the four of you here to speak to you about the arrangements for the rest of the academic year. As you know, most of the Senior class will be going to other academies. Everyone except you four. It's been decided that the four of you will be getting real-life guarding experience instead."

Eddie, Meredith and I sat still, not reacting, while Blake looked pissed off.

"There is a… compound… near the Bighorn Mountains that has asked for a Guardian presence. While there have been no attacks, and the property is not usually guarded, a protection detail has been requested."

"What sort of facility?" Blake asked suspiciously, interrupting Alberta's spiel.

"We'll get to that later, Ayett," she said, giving him a look for interrupting her.

"Being Novices, we will not be sending you alone. To this end, Guardians Hathaway, Alto and Belikov will be joining the six Novices for the duration of the mission."

"Six Novices?" Eddie asked. Either Alberta couldn't count, or Alberta couldn't count.

"There will be a pair of Novices from St. Basil's in Russia also joining you," she explained. "The nine of you will be living at the compound and will take part in practical guarding duties as well as intensive Guardian training from Guardians Hathaway, Belikov and Alto. It's a hell of an opportunity, so we expect you to make the most of it," she said smiling but looking at me a little nervously. I think she expected I might not be happy about the arrangement.

Looking around, I briefly met Dimitri's eyes, and I could tell he was silently telling me this was a good deal. Probably the best possible outcome I could have hoped for, given the other possibilities.

"It sounds great, and I'm really thankful to be included," I said with a big smile, blessing each of the Guardians at the table with a grin. Even Alto.

"Yeah, thanks!" said Eddie also smiling. "I appreciate the opportunity!"

Meredith also gave her thanks, followed by Blake, although it must be said the latter didn't sound particularly genuine about it.

"You won't be leaving for another few days, so tomorrow I'll be getting you to help the other Senior Novices move their stuff. They won't be coming back here to graduate, so they need to take everything with them. You can leave your things here. We're not sure exactly how long you'll be required near Big Horn, but if the mission concludes before the end of the academic year you will be brought back here and then ongoing arrangements made. Otherwise, you'll be recalled a week or two before the official end of academic year and arrangements will be made for you to take your trials."

"There's a lot you also need to know about the place you're going to. The facility you'll be guarding is not well known, and we intend to keep it that way. We'll meet at 10 pm here tomorrow to go through what you need to know before we depart; in the meantime, you can tell your friends only that you will be real-life guarding somewhere in Wyoming." It was my mother, and she seemed to be looking at Blake in particular. "We'll go through all your questions tomorrow at ten."

It was a dismissal, but I had more questions than answers.

"Rosemarie? Are you going back to your room, now?" my mother asked.

"Um. I was going to go help Lissa finish her packing," I said. "She's leaving for Court early tomorrow, and it sounds like I won't see her for a few months…"

"Yes. Her flight is 8 pm I think. Go see her, but perhaps we could catch a late breakfast tomorrow? After she's left?"

"Sounds great, thanks, Mom. I'll meet you in the cafeteria around 8.15?"

"I'll see you then," she said with a brusque nod.

"Rose? Are you going to see the Princess now?" Dimitri asked in his most formal tone. "If so I'll walk with you. I need to explain to her that I will not be accompanying her to Court."

"Yeah sure," I said, trying to sound nonchalant. "She and I are going to be up packing most of the night!"

Taking our leave, Dimitri and I walked toward the Moroi dorms, making sure there was a healthy distance between us.

"Is Lissa expecting you?" Dimitri asked quietly as we walked.

"Yes, but I can spare half an hour."

"Let's go to the gym, then," Dimitri said, striding toward the vacant structure. Checking we were the only two there he took me through to the supply room, closing the door behind us.

As soon as we were shut in, I slipped my arms around his neck, attacking his lips with mine before finally gasping, "Christian said you were going to Court with him, Lissa and Tasha. I was so worried!"

Dimitri pulled me onto his lap as he sat on a stack of workout maps.

"I nearly ended up there," he admitted. "And you nearly ended up at St. Christopher's! You can thank your mother and Novice Ayett we'll be together!"

"My mother? _Blake?!"_ I asked against his lips, still relishing my Russian God's kisses.

"Yes. Some of this you need to know before you see your Mom, so let me explain," he said, regretfully pulling his lips from mine.

"Alberta asked to see Matthews and me to tell us that we'd be going to Court with Lissa. I wasn't thrilled, but I could hardly tell her all the reasons I didn't want to go. At the same meeting, she said she intended you to be sent to St. Christopher's. I was telling her why I thought that was not such a great idea when your mother and Alto arrived for a meeting with Alberta. When Alberta told your Mom about the St. Christopher's plan, she was also unhappy with it.

"After hearing that the top male and female Novices from St. Basil's and St. Vladimir's were going to be sent on a mission, and that she was going to be the lead Guardian, your mother fought hard for you to be included. She argued the only reason Meredith was the top-ranked female Novice is that they were also looking at academic grades, and yours are still down from your time on the run. Your training scores eclipse Novice Edwards' and everyone knows it."

I agreed. Meredith was nice, and a friend of mine, but I'd laid her on her ass enough times in training to know I was by far superior to her when it came to fighting.

"Alberta mentioned she was having trouble placing Novice Ayett – that she was embarrassed to send a Novice of such low standard to another academy. That's when your mother suggested Blake might benefit from the intensive training afforded on a mission like this, and that if they were taking one extra Novice, they could take a second. You."

"Mom really wanted me there?"

"Yes. She wasn't backing down!" Dimitri chuckled. "She looked more determined than you in the cafeteria line when there's only one doughnut left!"

"So how did you end up coming?"

"Once Alberta and your Mom agreed four Novices from St. Vladimir's would be going, I said I thought a third Guardian should accompany them, and for the sake of the Novices from St. Basil's, it should be a native Russian speaker. Not all students there speak English as well as I do. Alberta asked me whether I'd consider it, given the Princess would be well protected at Court."

"I can't believe my mother fought for me," I said, still surprised by that aspect of things.

"I get the feeling she wants to spend more time with you," Dimitri replied, nuzzling into my hair. "And Alberta is right; the mission _is_ an amazing opportunity. Your mother is probably the best female Guardian of her generation. She could teach you a lot."

"I'm just glad you're not going to Court," I admitted, mentally adding the words 'with Tasha.' "Who's going with Lissa instead?" I asked curiously.

"Emil and Matthews."

"Tasha's not going to like that," I said with a satisfied grin. "But I can't wait to spend the next three and a half months with you by my side!"

* * *

I didn't see Dimitri again until the briefing the next morning. I'd spent the evening with Lissa finishing off her packing, and then we had a sleepover as it could be _months_ until we saw one another again. I insisted on going to the airstrip with her and Christian, threatening pyro within an inch of his life if he let anything happen to her before promising to contact her as soon as I could to let her know about where exactly I was headed.

Lissa hadn't had the opportunity to tell Christian that Emil would be with them at Court instead of Dimitri, so he was surprised when the unusually taciturn Guardian met them at the runway with Matthews and their luggage. I'd made Lissa promise three times to let me know through the bond when they were about to touch down. She thought it was so I'd know they'd arrived safely, and partially it was. But a more juvenile part of me wanted to see Tasha's face when she realized instead of six foot seven inches of sexy Russian Guardian, Lissa had been sent with Emil.

Breakfast with Mom had been good. I was glad Dimitri had given me the back story about her pushing for me to come on the mission, and not just because it meant more time with Dimitri. For the first time in a long time, maybe ever, I got the sense Mom was thinking about _me._ We kept the conversation general, but she seemed happy I was positive about the mission.

"You wouldn't have rather gone to one of the academies?" she checked.

"Nah. I think I'll learn a lot more in the field. It's going to be hard to leave St. Vlad's though."

Mom's face was thoughtful. "You think of the place as home?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I can't remember anywhere before coming here," I explained. "Thanks for including me in the mission."

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at me carefully.

"Well, you're the Guardian in charge. I know I wouldn't be going unless you wanted me to," I explained, "and I doubt it was Alto pushing for me to be included!"

"Yes, Stan did have his reservations," she admitted, the corner of her lips twitching in suppressed amusement.

"He's such a tool," I muttered.

"Aye," she agreed, before putting her hand over her mouth with a scandalized look.

I stifled a giggle and let her comment pass, grateful for even just a moment of private mother/daughter banter.

* * *

"Thank you all for gathering," Mom said as soon as Blake arrived, five minutes after ten, earning himself a Hathaway glare for his tardiness. "This morning Guardians Alto, Belikov and I will be outlining the mission. I need to start by saying what you learn here, and in the field, needs to stay confidential. This mission has been authorized by her Majesty herself, and she requires absolute secrecy. Breaching her conditions will be considered an act of treason."

Eddie and I looked at each other, eyes widening. This was bigger than either of us had anticipated.

"There is an aspect of your Guardian education we only cover in the last week or two of your schooling," Stan took over. "It involves a group collectively called Alchemists. Alchemists are a group of humans who know about Moroi, Dhampir and Strigoi, and whose purpose is to conceal our existence from humans. The Alchemists perform a number of roles in relation to this, including a 'clean up' service of sorts; attending on request to destroy evidence after a Strigoi event and where necessary come up with cover stories. As well as this, the Alchemists keep thorough, detailed records about Moroi, Dhampir, and Strigoi. A copy of every Guardian report is sent to the Alchemists, as are all Moroi and Dhampir birth, death, and marriage records," he explained.

"You need to appreciate the Alchemists operate entirely independently of our society and government. They believe that Moroi, Dhampir, and Strigoi are all inherently evil and are to be avoided, although they support our efforts to destroy Strigoi thereby keeping humans safe and ignorant of our existence. They keep any interaction with us to an absolute minimum and are notoriously secretive about their operations. We have only the vaguest idea of the location of their facilities, and next to no idea about what happens there. For the first time in known history, the Alchemists have contacted her Majesty and requested Guardian protection at one of their facilities, hence our mission," my mother concluded.

"What can you tell us about the location and our roles?" Meredith asked respectfully.

"Not a lot," my mother admitted. "We have been told that the facility we will be guarding is an electronic storage location. We know the Alchemists have a large distributed computer network that allows them to store the vast amount of information they collect about our kind. We also know that there are a handful of Alchemists present at the scene, and we have been specifically requested to avoid contact with them wherever possible."

"The plan is we will drive toward the area in daylight hours, stopping overnight in the township of Sheridan. We will stock up with provisions there before arriving at our location around lunch time human time. We will be accommodated in a large house on premises, and our role is to do surveillance, guard and respond to any threats. The location will also be warded," Dimitri outlined. "While the Alchemists stressed there have been no direct threats, and our presence has been requested as a precaution, we're not entirely sure why they've asked for us and what we're walking into."

"As the first time the Alchemists have requested a Guardian presence, her Majesty is eager for our mission to be a success. She is hoping it might herald the start of closer cooperation between the Alchemists and ourselves. To this end, I have to stress the need to be professional. While you are not yet Guardians, for the extent and purposes of this mission you will be considered as such. You are envoys for her Majesty, and any breach of professionalism will reflect on her."

Meredith and Eddie were sitting shell-shocked, as was I. Dimitri had told me a little about the Alchemists in the aftermath of Spokane, but it was still a surprise to hear we were going to one of their locations.

I sat dutifully listening to Mom, Stan and Dimitri as they gave us further instructions as well as a list of what we should pack. Then, with a final reminder about secrecy, we were dismissed. I was desperate to speak with Dimitri, or spend a little more time in his arms, but Meredith accompanied me back to the female Novice quarters, so the best I got was a fleeting apologetic glance as he headed off in another direction. I was twenty minutes into packing when I heard a soft knock at the door.

"Can I come in, Roza?" Dimitri asked when I opened the door to find him leaning against the doorframe.

"Sure," I muttered breathlessly, standing aside to let him through. "Why didn't you tell me last night we'd be going to an Alchemist facility?!"

"It would have taken too long to explain. Besides, that way you looked as surprised as the other three," he murmured, coming to stand close beside me and rubbing his thumb across my lower lip.

"Is it going to be ok?" I asked worriedly. Part of me meant walking into an unknown situation at Big Horn, but the other question I was asking was about him. About _us._

"We'll be ok, Roza. We'll just have to be careful," he whispered, answering both questions before he leaned in for a soft, gentle kiss. "I have to go now. Guardian Alto and I are putting together some of the equipment we'll need for the trip, and you'll probably want to see your fellow Novices before they leave."

He was right. There was a farewell lunch, of sorts, being held in the cafeteria. This might be the last time I'd see some of these people, so I wanted to say farewell.

"Come to my room after dinner tonight if you can get away" he requested.

"I will," I promised, giving him a final long hard kiss before releasing him with a sigh. "Off you go, Comrade, or Stan's going to wonder where you are!"

Dimitri growled softly but let himself out my door.

I flopped back onto my bed. Twenty minutes, and most of my dorm room was packed. Other than the few things I needed to box up to leave here, and the things I'd left out for the next few days, I was done. I was wondering how things would be arranged at the house we'd be staying in when I felt the telltale tickle in my head before Lissa sent a message through the bond.

 _Rose? We're just about to land._

I slipped into Lissa's head in time to see her grasping Christian's hand as the wheels hit the Court runway and their plane taxied over to the arrivals area. In no time at all, the stairs were in place, and Lissa and Christian crossed the tarmac to an excited Tasha and Adrian.

Matthews and Emil were following, but Tasha paid them no mind, instead looking at the stairs waiting for Dimitri.

"Where's Guardian Belikov?" she eventually asked.

"He's been sent on a mission with some of the final year Novices," Matthews explained with a friendly smile. "Emil will be the Princess's second Guardian while she's at Court."

Tasha's face screwed up in anger. It was as I'd suspected; Tasha's motivations hadn't been entirely altruistic when she'd suggested Lissa stay with her and Christian at Court. Pulling myself from Lissa's head, I couldn't suppress the smile on my face. Thanks to my mother, things had worked out _so_ much better than I could have hoped!


	4. Chapter 4

The final Novice lunch was fun. It wasn't how we'd expected to finish our schooling together, but I put my knowledge of Alto being occupied elsewhere, and my awesome ninja skills to good use by leading a raid on Stan's dorm room, climbing in through his window before opening the door and getting the other Seniors to hang his underwear, shirts and pants on the handle of every door in the Guardian dormitory wing. All three levels! I would have done more, but there was not enough time.

"He's going to know it's you," Shane Reyes predicted looking around Stan's trashed room warily.

"But he won't be able to _prove_ it," I giggled smugly. "And that will fuck with him even more!" I said, grabbing a chap stick from Alto's bathroom drawer and writing _'We'll miss you Stannie'_ on his bathroom mirror before hightailing it out of there. I was safe sitting on the commons lawn with Shane, Meredith, Chelsea, Eddie, Ryan, and Dean fifteen minutes later when Alto and Dimitri walked by, finished with whatever task they'd been involved with. It was five minutes after that we heard an outraged "HATHAWAY!" bellowed from the third floor of the Guardian block.

"Nice one, Rose," Eddie said with a chuckle, giving me a high five.

"I aim to please," I laughed, knowing Stan would be ropeable after this.

"So where are you three going?" Dean asked curiously.

Eddie, looked at Meredith before glancing at me.

"We're not really sure," Eddie said. "Just that we'll be guarding in Wyoming."

"That's so cool. Wish I were going there. I'm being sent to St. Michael's," Dean replied with disgust. It was the smallest of the academies in America, located in Kansas.

"Sucked in! Chelsea and I got St. Basil's," Ryan crowed. "I heard their fighting program is _amazing!_ Isn't that where Belikov graduated?" he asked, looking at me.

"Yep," I said popping the p. "You'd better watch out… From what Dimitri tells me, they work their Novices _hard_ over there!" Ryan and Chelsea were weaker than the rest of us in fighting skills; guess that's why Alberta had picked St. Basil's for them.

"I got St. Christopher's," Shane chimed in.

"That's in the UK, isn't it?" Meredith asked.

"Sure is! My Mom's brother is allocated there, and he's promised to show me around. I can't wait!"

After that we split up, Meredith and I going with Chelsea to help her lug her stuff down to the box room at the base of the Novice dorms.

"I'm going to send most of my stuff home until I get an allocation," Chelsea explained as she wrote the address on her boxes. "Alberta said to leave them here and she'll get them sent, as we're heading into Missoula in three hours to start the trip to St. Basil's."

For the first time, I felt a little envious. It would have been cool to see another country. I'd never been overseas. I didn't even have a passport. But at least I'd be staying with Dimitri, and that was something.

At 4 am coaches pulled up, and the Novices were piling into them headed to Missoula to start their journeys either overseas or interstate. The only ones left were Dean and four others who would be flying direct from the academy's runway to St. Michael's. They would be leaving just after first light, so the nine of us hung out in the common room for the afternoon before having a final dinner together in the cafeteria. Spaghetti and meatballs. Nice to see the kitchens had joined in the spirit by keeping their food miserable right to the very last!

"I'm not going to miss the food," Dean joked. "Hopefully St. Michael's will be better!"

"It would be hard to be worse," another senior, Brett, quipped.

"I know it was you!" Stan roared, stalking into the cafeteria and over to where I was sitting. "You gave it away when you graffitied my mirror!"

"I don't know _what_ you're talking about, Guardian Alto," I said innocently, catching amused looks from the Guardians seated at the tables in the corner.

" _Someone_ broke into my room and distributed my… garments… all over the Guardians' building," he roared, "and they wrote _'We'll miss you Stannie'_ on my bathroom mirror. You're the only one who refers to me that way!"

"To your face," I giggled. _"Lots_ of students call you that behind your back Guardian Alto."

"Amongst other things," Aidan said under his breath, but not quietly enough for Stan not to hear him.

Alto's face was getting red as his fury built. I kept an interested albeit innocent expression as I continued.

"Besides, Guardian Alto, why would I write that I'd _'miss you'_? We're going to be spending the next three months living together, remember?"

Stan growled and was probably about to say something highly insulting when Alberta came over to defuse the situation.

"Alto, you can't blame Rose without any proof, and what she says makes sense. She'd hardly risk upsetting you when she'll be spending the next few months living in close quarters with you, would she? Now, I think you should check the rose bushes outside my office. It appears some of your undershorts might have made their way there."

She said it in a perfectly dispassionate tone with not a hint of amusement. _Man_ that woman was good! Stan glared at me furiously before stalking from the cafeteria, his dignity fluttering in tatters behind him.

"How did his stuff end up in the rose bushes?" I shrieked with laughter once he'd departed. It was a _great_ idea, and I was annoyed I hadn't thought of it myself!

"I think Guardians Randall and Burke gathered his things from the second floor hallway," Brett said with a chuckle. "I was sitting in the commons and saw them pegging his stuff through the window. It looked like it was raining white Y-fronts!"

Peering out the window towards the Guardians' block, sure enough there was Stan illuminated by the first rays of the sun, using a broomstick to fish his underwear out of the prickly rose bushes beneath Alberta's office window. I was laughing so hard I was nearly crying, and Dean actually _was_ crying he was laughing that much. Meredith had the presence of mind to whip out her phone, taking several highly amusing photos.

"I don't want to _ever_ forget that," she said with a huge grin, agreeing to send me the pics.

"Me either," I agreed, wiping my eyes. "The was gold! Solid gold!"

* * *

"What you did to Stan wasn't nice, Roza," Dimitri lovingly admonished a few hours later. "I know he can be prickly, but he's still a Guardian and one of your teachers…"

"Did you just call him _prickly?!"_ I squealed, shoving one of Dimitri's pillows over my mouth to muffle my hysteria. In light of the rosebush, it was a poor choice of words.

"That's not what I meant you know it," he whispered, but there were telltale crinkles at the corner of his lips. "Behave yourself, or I'll send you back to your dorm," he threatened, before pulling the pillow away and pressing his lips against mine.

I'd come back from seeing Dean, Brett and the others to the runway for their flight to Kansas. Now Meredith, Eddie, Blake and I were the only senior Novices left on campus. We were due to leave for Wyoming in twenty-four hours, so we'd been advised to stay up for as long as possible and then sleep to start resetting our body clocks to a diurnal schedule.

"I still don't get why we'll be running in daylight hours? Surely if we're to be guarding we'd be more effective at night?"

"It might not be for the whole time. Your Mom wants to see what the situation is when we get there and then decide. There are enough of us to do two shifts if necessary."

We settled in side by side leaning against the headboard of Dimitri's bed. We'd each chosen a film for the other to watch. He'd chosen some Western, and I'd brought the box set of Harry Potter, which, amazingly, my Comrade had never seen!

Settling in with _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ I happily munched on the candy Dimitri had thoughtfully provided. Curled up under his arm, watching Harry Potter, life was good. We were up to the chess scene when there was a knock at Dimitri's dorm room door. I looked at him, lifting my eyebrows questioningly and pointing to the bathroom. When he nodded his head, I climbed off the bed, went into the bathroom, shutting the door soundlessly behind me. A moment later I heard Dimitri let someone into his room.

"Stan. How can I help you?" Dimitri's melodious voice asked courteously.

"Just running over final details for the trip. As you know, we'd planned to take the mini-van so we could all travel together, but Alberta said that might be better left here, so she's asked us to take two SUVs instead. Since we don't know what to expect at the location, Janine's agreed two vehicles give us greater flexibility. I've spoken with the kitchens, and they've given me a large list of supplies they can send with us. With the sudden departure of so many students and staff they're grossly overstocked. There's a deep freezer where we're going and the kitchen have large coolers we can use. I'm assuming we'll be cooking in turns, so if there's anything you need from the list for the nights you'll be cooking…" Stan sounded displeased at the prospect of preparing food. "You _can_ cook can't you?"

"I like cooking and I'm used to cooking for a large number," Dimitri reassured him. "Back home I have three sisters, my mother, grandmother, nephew and there was always a friend or a neighbor coming joining us for a meal. I'll take a look over the list and call the kitchen to package up the things I'll need."

"That would be a help."

There was a pause before finally Dimitri spoke again.

"Was there anything else?"

"Yes. I assume you heard about the stunt Hathaway pulled earlier? With my clothing?!"

"I'm not sure it was Rose, but yes I heard some of the seniors played a silly prank."

"It was Rose and you know it! I need your help keeping her under control while we're away. This mission is a big opportunity for me. A good report could see me put forward for a position with a charge. I don't want her messing it up!"

"Stan, there's no proof that Rose was the one behind the prank, and you'd do well to remember Janine Hathaway is Rose's mother! She's not going to appreciate the way you always assume the worst of Rose."

"She wouldn't even be _on_ this mission if Janine hadn't insisted," Alto spat angrily.

"All the more reason to keep your accusations to yourself," Dimitri counseled a little frostily.

"Yeah, you're right," Stan grudgingly admitted. "This is a big deal for me is all. You'll be heading to Court or college with the Princess in a few months, but this might be my ticket out of here."

"You don't give Rose enough credit, you know. She's not the same girl she was before she left the academy. She's not even the same girl she was when she got back. Trust her – she might surprise you."

"Alright." It was clear from Alto's voice he was unconvinced. "Never picked you for a Harry Potter fan," he added with amusement.

"I think we all need a little magic in our life, don't you?" Dimitri said sardonically before showing Alto from his room. A moment later he opened door to his bathroom.

"Your pranks on Alto have to end here," he said firmly with a raised eyebrow.

"Ok," I agreed, not wanting to ruin our evening together by arguing. "What did he mean his ticket out of here?" I asked curiously.

Dimitri sighed. "Academy guarding is usually reserved for older Guardians when they're slowing down a bit, or sometimes for a Guardian to recover after a traumatic event," he said, giving me a smile indicating himself. "And sometimes, an academy position is given as a punishment…"

"A punishment?! What's Alto being punished for?" I gasped, my mind going into overdrive with various scenarios, each more farfetched than the last.

"I don't know that was the case," Dimitri said evasively. "But the fact remains Stan is trying to put his best foot forward on this mission and I want you to promise me you'll not hinder that."

"I promise," I said quickly, shimmying under Dimitri's arm and cuddling up against his chest, slipping my legs under his quilt so we were side by side leaning against the headboard. "We missed the end of the movie. Did you want to rewind it? Or we could put yours on if you'd rather?"

"Let's rewind it," Dimitri said passing me the bowl of sweets. "I want to see what happens!"

He never asked me to stay the night, but then he never suggested I go back to my room. Somewhere near the middle of _The Goblet of Fire_ we fell asleep, waking at around 11 pm cuddled tightly together. It was disorientating waking at such an odd hour and in the bed of my love. We rewound the movie to the last point we could both remember, and finished it off, and just before midnight I gathered my things to leave.

"Wait a moment," he said, climbing out of bed and going to his closet, pulling out a smallish wrapped box. He sat me down beside him just as the clock turned from 11:59 to 12:00.

"Happy birthday, Roza," he crooned, leaning forward and brushing his lips across mine so very tenderly. "It's not much, but I saw it and thought of you."

"You remembered!" I squealed, throwing myself into his arms.

"Like I'd forget," he said with a grin.

I stared at the box curiously. It was from the TV Shopping Network. I was relieved it was too small to be a thigh-master or ab-cruncher! Looking at my Russian God through my lashes, I opened the box to find a decorative metal half-sphere sort of cage the size of a doughnut with a long metal stick through it. I smiled appreciatively before turning to him.

It was so intricate. It was so beautiful. I had no fucking idea what it _was!_

"It's a bun holder," he said a little crestfallen when he realized I didn't know what he'd given me. "I thought you could maybe wear it once you graduate? It's so you can have your hair up and out of the way when you work. I know it's not very exciting, but I haven't had a lot of time to shop…" He was sounding more apologetic by the second.

"Comrade I _love_ it!" I squeaked. "It's so pretty and practical and I _love_ the idea of wearing something you gave me every day," I said climbing into his lap and throwing my arms around him.

"I wanted to get you something more significant, but I just haven't had a chance."

"I love it," I said resolutely, "and I love you! You know I'm not a 'stuff' person, but this is pretty and practical and it means a lot you thought to get me something useful I could have with me, even when you're not."

"Are you sure?" He still seemed uncertain.

"I'm positive. In fact, I think you need to help me wear it now!" I said in a tempting voice, hoping to God he had an idea how to use it, because I was clueless.

"Put your hair up in high pony tail, then wrap it around into a bun. Then you put the bun holder over the top and push the metal stake through. It keeps it really secure – at least that's what the ad said."

"The ad?"

He pointed to the box a little embarrassed. "I didn't have a chance to get to the mall, but I saw this on TV and I thought it was just what you need, so I ordered it."

"That is so thoughtful, Comrade," I said, doing my hair as instructed and feeling him place the holder and then secure it with the stake. I shook my head from side to side and had to admit, it _did_ feel secure. "Does it suit me? Do I look pretty?"

"Roza you look so beautiful, I have to pinch myself to believe you're actually mine."

He pulled me to sit on his lap, and for the next half an hour we made out. It was getting more and more heated and it was almost impossible for me to control my excitement when he lifted my shirt, pushing my bra aside so he could alternate taking each plump firm nipple into his mouth. I was kissing his hair, whimpering as his fingers rubbed along the seam at the crotch of my jeans. My hands under his shirt grasping his back, I could feel his throbbing member pushed against my butt, and I knew he was every bit as turned on as I was. I hoped, just this once, he'd forget the need to stay apart until graduation and just _be_ with me.

"Please?" I moaned. It was what I really wanted; to celebrate being an adult by being _his_ again.

"We can't Roza. I want to _so much_ but we can't!"

I was so frustrated I could almost cry. So, so close but still so far away!

"Then I'm going to go," I said, wanting to get out of there before my disappointment turned into ugly tears. I gave Dimitri a final lingering kiss before I climbed off his lap, carefully adjusting my bra and shirt and shifting uncomfortably in my skinny jeans.

"I'm sorry, Roza," he sighed, looking every bit as frustrated and disappointed as I was. "I love you. Happy birthday Ангел."

"What does that mean?" I asked crossly, feeling - well honestly - a bit pissed off.

"It means angel," he said sweetly, grasping my hand and kissing it lovingly. "Happy birthday, angel."


	5. Chapter 5

Lying on my bed, I'd miraculously woken before my alarm. I suppose there had to be a first time for everything! It was 5.30 am, and we were due to leave for our mission in an hour and a half. I couldn't believe the two things I'd waited so long for had finally happened; I was eighteen, and I was finally leaving St. Vladimir's. Yeah I'd be back to pick up what was left of my stuff, but today was the last time I'd wake up at St. Vladimir's as my home.

I lay on my bed for a minute, giving the event the moment it deserved. For good or for bad, Rose Hathaway was a legal adult and was leaving home!

It seemed weird to be going somewhere without Liss. For as long as I could remember, where Lissa went, so did I. Still, I wouldn't have wanted to go to Court and see scar-face throw herself at Dimitri, so all in all things had worked out for the best!

Thinking of Lissa, I was surprised I hadn't heard from her. Usually, she'd have been pounding on my door at midnight wishing me happy birthday. That obviously wasn't going to happen this year, but I'd kind of expected a 'happy birthday' through the bond, or maybe a text.

Checking my phone, though, the only text was an auto-send one from a coffee shop we used to go to in Portland, offering me a free cup of coffee in honor of the day. Nice to know _someone_ cared, I thought with a wry smile.

Slipping into Lissa's head, I saw she was sitting at the counter in a large kitchen, watching Christian search through cupboards.

"Got it," he said, turning to her with a grin, holding a ribbed skillet. "Hopefully a good ole' fashioned barbecue will put Tasha in a better mood," he continued hopefully.

I watched through Lissa's eyes as Christian finished making coleslaw, potato salad and seasoned some steaks. The mood coming through the bond was peaceful and happy. Lissa loved being at Court, but more than anything, she loved being with Christian.

Pulling out of her head, I was thankful that she was happy. She was more than my best friend – she was my sister, and I was hugely relieved she seemed to have taken the relocation to Court in her stride.

Climbing out of my bed, I packed up the pillow and quilt before walking across the hallway into the bathroom. Taking my time with my shower, I used the jasmine body wash Dimitri had once commented he liked the smell of. I was still disappointed about last night. _Vlad_ knows what the accommodations would be like where we were going. Hopefully we'd have our own rooms, but with so many people living together, the opportunity for alone time with Dimitri was bound to be limited. It's just I'd felt so in love and connected after the cabin, and I wanted to experience that with him again _without_ enduring a Strigoi attack straight afterwards.

Back in my room I toweled off, dressing carefully. We'd be driving most of the day, so I'd ditched my sexy but slightly uncomfortable skinny jeans in favor of a fitted pair of cargo pants. Despite being March, the temps were topping at around 50 degrees during the day, so I put on a long sleeved shirt and then topped it with a hoodie. I wore my hair out, applying some very subtle eyeliner, mascara and then the lip gloss Dimitri had given me in the infirmary what seemed like a million years ago. Then, with a final look around my almost empty dorm room, I shouldered my bag, quilt and pillow and made my way to the cafeteria.

Eddie was the only one from our group there when I arrived.

"Ready, Hathaway?"

"I was born ready," I joked, grabbing a plate of food and flopping onto the bench opposite him. "Do you reckon they'll give us stakes?" I asked between mouthfuls of bacon.

"I'm not sure they'd trust you with a real stake near Alto," Eddie said half seriously.

"Ha!" I scoffed. "I could have staked Alto during the battle on campus if I'd wanted to. No one would have known!"

"It worries me you've even considered that," Eddie laughed, bringing a smile to my own face.

Not long after Meredith joined us, then Blake. The four of us were sitting companionably when Lionel walked in.

"Hathaway. You're needed in the Guardians' Lounge."

I shoved the last piece of bacon into my mouth and picked up my toast, following Lionel out of the cafeteria and across the commons to the Guardians' building. The lounge was basically empty, although my mother, Stan, Alberta and Dimitri were there with a few others. I couldn't help but notice how handsome Dimitri looked. Like me he was dressed in cargo pants and a hoodie.

"You called?" I asked.

"I believe you're owed a couple of molnija and a zvezda," my mother said in a proud voice, pointing to where Lionel was readying himself at the tattoo station. "Lionel's been doing them over the last day or two as shifts have allowed – with so much going on there wasn't time to arrange a proper ceremony," she explained with a shrug. They'd obviously been waiting for me, as Alberta, Mom, Stan, Dimitri and finally I went up to have our symbols from the battle and the rescue tattooed onto our necks.

When it was my turn, I had a quick chat with Lionel about positioning, and then he started. I knew what to expect, this time, so I sat unflinching as he inked the battle star and another two lightning crosses on my neck. It felt different, this time, though. After Spokane, my molnija had been a reminder that I hadn't been able to save Mason. They'd been permanent reminders of that loss. This time around, one of my molnija was for Dimitri; a symbol of what I'd done to _save_ him.

"Four molnija and a zvezda," my mother said proudly, coming over to inspect the kill tally on the back of my neck. "I'm very proud of you. Rosemarie."

"Thanks, Mom," I said, feeling a little teary. It was one of the only times I could remember her saying that to me.

"Well done, Rose," Alberta agreed. Dimitri said nothing, but his eyes were trained on me, telling me what his lips couldn't.

"We should get the cars packed," Stan suggested to Mom who rather irritably agreed.

"Belikov. Follow me to the motor pool and we'll bring the cars around to the rear of the kitchens," he ordered.

"Are you sure there was no other Guardian available to come on this mission with us?" Mom grumbled quietly to Alberta after they'd left. "We've not even _started_ and already the guy is driving me batty!"

"Afraid not, Janine. He's put in for transfer every round for the last ten years. I have to give him a chance to improve his application…"

"I suppose so," my mother said with a sigh. "Rosemarie? Are you all packed?" she asked more loudly, suddenly remembering I was there.

"Yep. Got everything in the cafeteria with the others. What can I do to help?"

She might be my mother, but for this mission she was also the lead Guardian. It wouldn't hurt to be a bit helpful, I thought. Mom was pleasantly surprised.

"You can help Belikov and Alto load the coolers and luggage into the cars," she ordered.

"Who's traveling in which vehicle?" I queried.

Mom pursed her lips for a moment in thought.

"You, me and Belikov in one, Stan and the other Novices in the other. You can invite one of your friends to ride with us, if you'd like?"

"Thanks. I'll ask Eddie," I said, heading across to meet Stan and Dimitri at the kitchens.

"Guardian Alto, you're riding with Meredith and Blake, Guardian Belikov, Eddie and I are riding with Mom," I announced.

Stan immediately bristled. "That's not how the vehicles should be organized, Hathaway! Guardian protocol states that the vehicles should be weighted as evenly as possible by ranking."

I shrugged. "Don't shoot the messenger, Alto. If you don't like it, take it up with Mom."

Stan grumbled, but turned back to shifting coolers into the trunk. "Bring that one over here, Belikov," he instructed none too happily. "If there's three in this car we can fit an extra cooler."

The food loaded, Stan climbed behind the wheel of his vehicle driving it around to the front of the commons so the luggage could be added.

"Your new molnija suit you," Dimitri said with a smile as we jumped into the other car.

"Thanks, Comrade," I said, my heart fluttering.

He looked around quickly to make sure no one could see us.

"Beautiful girl," he murmured, bringing his lips to mine in a sweet kiss. He pulled away with a groan. "Let's get going."

When we pulled up the front, Mom and Alberta were waiting with the other Novices. I was glad I wasn't traveling in the other car. Meredith and Stan both looked unhappy with the travel arrangements, and Blake permanently looked pissed off - so no change there!

We loaded our bags, stuffing our quilts and pillows in the back.

"It's no use, we can't fit another thing in," Dimitri said, passing me my quilt and pillow. "You'll have to have these on the back seat."

"Sounds good to me," I replied happily. Since I couldn't see them letting either of us drive, Eddie and I might as well get comfy in the back.

Both vehicles now packed and ready to go, Alberta said her farewells, giving me a long hug.

"She loves you very much, Rose," she whispered in my ear. "She has trouble showing it, but there's no doubt she cares. Just give her a chance." I nodded. No one knew better than Alberta how complicated things were between Mom and I.

Stan, Meredith and Blake loaded into their car, Stan loudly and officiously directing Meredith to be his 'second', meaning she was responsible for the vehicle checks prior to departure. I couldn't swear to it, but I think I caught my mother rolling her eyes at Alto's antics.

"I'll take first shift driving," she announced to Dimitri, Eddie and I. "Who wants to be second?"

As the other Guardian there, the role should have automatically fallen to Dimitri, but she was giving Eddie and I the opportunity to step up. I was torn. I'd like to work alongside Mom, but I'd also like to sit in the back seat next to Dimitri.

"I'll do it," Eddie said eagerly.

"And I'll take second shift" I suggested with a smile. Best of both worlds.

We piled into the car; Mom driving, Eddie riding shotgun, Dimitri behind my mother and me on the passenger side in the back seat, nestled in under my quilt. We were silent as Eddie ran through the vehicle checks, Mom giving him an approving nod as we set off trailing Stan's car.

"So what's going to happen while we're away?" I asked as we passed through the Academy's ornate gates and out onto the road that led to the highway. "Kirova never said what they were going to do to make the academy safer?"

"They're adding a second ward line and they're going to block off the caves," Mom said. "Although we believe the Strigoi are long gone, the School Council are bringing in humans to do seismic surveying. The plan is to carry out detonations and implode the cave entrances closest to the academy. It's just too risky having such large secluded spaces so close to the school."

Eddie shuddered a little. "It will be a huge job," he said quietly. "Those caves go for miles, there must be exits all over the place?"

"Yes," Mom replied grimly. "It's going to take them months to find them all…"

I shivered underneath my quilt. I tried not to think about the fight in the caves. It had all happened so quickly, and while we'd got out relatively unscathed, not _everyone_ had made it back. Some had been killed. And others? Well God bless their souls – the belief was at least one had been turned.

Dimitri surreptitiously slipped his hand under the edge of the quilt, finding my hand and holding it gently in his own. His thumb was rubbing soothing circles on my palm, and I closed my eyes; reveling in even the smallest touch.

* * *

We stopped at a fast food place called Kings Hat in Billings for lunch, much to my Russian God's annoyance. Declaring itself _'home to the flying burger'_ I decided to indulge in one as well as a Double Bacon Cheeseburger, large fries and a chocolate shake. Eddie had similar to me, but Mom and Dimitri both chose healthier options; Mom having a chicken sandwich with a coffee, Dimitri choosing a steak sandwich and a bottle of water.

"You could have thought of the rest of us before you ordered that," Meredith grumbled at Blake, who was scoffing down his second serve of onion rings. "You're going to stink out the car!" Yet one more reason to be happy I was riding with Mom, Eddie and Dimitri!

"When are the Novices from St. Basil's arriving?" Meredith continued, doing her best to avoid witnessing Blake's revolting habit of eating with his mouth half open.

"On Thursday," Stan supplied. "They're flying in to Billings, so a small team will come back to collect them." Today was Tuesday, so we'd have a couple of days to settle in before they arrived.

"What do you know about them?" I asked.

"Not a lot," Dimitri said. "Just that they're brother and sister. Twins. Artyom and Elizaveta Vitsin. Top male and female Novices of the senior class."

"They must be really good?" I mused. "You said St. Basil's is known for its combat program."

"Yes," Dimitri acknowledged. "They'll probably be excellent fighters."

"Good!" my mother said happily. "I'm looking forward to working with some talented Novices!"

Meredith raised her eyebrow at me. I don't think my mother realized that what she said could be taken to mean she thought the St. Vlad's Novices were rubbish, but that's how it had come across to me, and obviously Meredith had taken it that way too.

"Yes. I can't wait for them to get here and show us how it's _really_ done," I snapped, standing up and binning my wrappers before stalking off to wait beside the vehicles. I'd been moping there a while when I heard footsteps.

"I don't think she meant to be hurtful," Eddie said, leaning against the car beside me.

"Maybe. But it doesn't mean she wasn't."

We stood in silence, leaning back against the car. We were still there five minutes later when Dimitri approached, followed by my mother. He didn't say anything, but I could see the loving concern in his eyes.

"Rose? You ready to take over as second?" he said, the car keys in his hand.

"Sure thing," I said, doing the exterior vehicle check before climbing in to the passenger side completing the interior checks.

"All ready to go," I said in my most professional voice. From the corner of my eye I could see my mother sitting behind Dimitri. While I didn't ignore her, per se, I wasn't introducing topics of conversation, either. This leg of the drive was comparatively short – just over two hours on the I-90, most of it through the Crow Reservation. We were most of the way there when my mother broke the silence.

"I can assure you, this is nothing like the _real_ Aberdeen," she chuckled as we drove through a place of the same name a few minutes shy of the Wyoming border. There was nothing there, other than a sign. Open fields on either side of us, and some train tracks to our right.

"Aberdeen? That's in northern Scotland, right?" I asked, since no one else seemed inclined to comment.

"Yes. St. Christopher's is just outside Edinburgh, but Aberdeen is the closest big city to where I grew up outside Glenkindie."

"Were there castles near where you grew up, Guardian Hathaway?" Eddie asked politely.

"Aye," she said. "We lived on a farmstead not far from Kildrummy Castle. It's a ruin from the thirteenth century. Not many people know it, now, but it was a Moroi and Dhampir stronghold back in the day. The first in Scotland. I used to play in the ruins for hours as a child."

"Wow!" Eddie said seriously impressed. "That's so cool! You didn't tell me your Mom grew up near a _Moroi castle,_ Rose."

"That would be because I didn't know," I said, pointedly opening up the map on my phone and needlessly scrutinizing our route. There was no further conversation until we were approaching the outskirts of Sheridan. We found the Americas Best Value Inn, pulling up moments after Stan, Blake and Meredith. Mom alighted from the vehicle, she and Stan going to the office to collect the keys. A few minutes later, Mom climbed back into the car.

"Us girls have room eight. The guys have rooms nine and ten," she announced. All on the ground floor, Dimitri was able to pull up directly outside our rooms.

Mom climbed out, opening the door before getting her bag from the trunk and taking it into a basic but clean looking room with two queen sized beds. She dropped her bag onto the bed closest to the door. Nodding to Meredith when she came in carrying her bag. As Meredith passed, I could smell the faint scent of onions.

"Rosemarie?" Janine said in a no nonsense tone. "It's only for the night, but they don't have a fold out bed available. You'll be alright bunking in with me." It was a question, but phrased as a statement.

"Sure thing," I said tonelessly, dumping my bag on the bed beside hers. It was just past 2 pm. Early afternoon. "Meredith? My legs are stiff after the drive. Want to come for a walk?"

She smiled and immediately agreed. While we weren't the best of friends, we got along well enough and after six or so hours in a car with Blake and Stan, she probably needed to bitch even more than I did.

"That's fine but don't go far, take your phones and be back by three," Mom said, passing me a key and looking as though she'd appreciate a few minutes to herself.

"Yes, Mom," I said, with only a tiny amount of sarcasm.


	6. Chapter 6

A bunch of streets nestled at the foot of the mountains on one side of the I-90, there was no way to get lost in Sheridan! Meredith and I walked up from the motel on East Fifth Street to Main Street, wandering up and then back down the main drag. It was your bog standard regional center, although I did think the historic part of town was quite pretty.

I looked at my phone. 2.45 and we'd already covered all the highlights. As I'd anticipated, Meredith had needed to bitch about her trip with Stan and Blake. Apparently, Stan had decided to use the time as a 'teaching opportunity'; quizzing her and Blake about various aspects of Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection.

"It was hell, Rose," Meredith groaned. "Blake didn't know anything, so Alto delivered a six-hour lecture, asking Blake questions all the way through. I've never been so bored in my life!"

I suppressed a grin. It made riding for six hours with my mother sound like a treat!

"Where did Geoff end up?" I asked, referring to Meredith's Moroi boyfriend.

She sighed. "He's at Court with his family attending the Moroi school there. He said he's looking forward to catching up when I come to Court to get allocated…" She didn't have to finish. Moroi/Dhampir high school relationships had a natural expiry date; graduation. Or in this case, the closure of the Academy.

"Do you miss him?" I asked curiously.

"Yes and no. I knew it was coming. It was just nice to feel special for a while, you know?"

I did know. Not that Dimitri and I were free to show it, but it was _wonderful_ to feel that someone noticed and cared.

"How are you going to go with your Mom?" she continued.

"Vlad knows," I said. "Things are better than before, but then they've never been particularly good, so that's not saying much. I just wish it was easier."

Meredith nodded. She'd seen my black eye at Christmas and been in class when Stan had kicked me out during my mother's presentation. We walked in silence back to the hotel. Opening the door to our room, I saw my Mom resting on our bed. I jerked my head to one side, silently indicating to Meredith we should leave her to rest. We knocked next door where I'd seen Dimitri and Eddie take their bags. Eddie opened the door, and looking past him I could see Dimitri reclined on the far bed reading a Western.

"Is it ok if we hang out here? We've just been out for a walk and Mom's sleeping in our room. I didn't want to disturb her."

Eddie looked at Dimitri who nodded, straightening up a little on his bed.

"Sure thing, come in," Eddie said stepping aside.

"Thanks, Eddie," Meredith said. Following her into the room there was only a single chair, so the three of us flopped onto Eddie's bed. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dimitri watching us. More than anything I would have liked to lie on his bed with him and cuddle, but that wasn't going to happen.

"Much in town?" Eddie asked.

"Drugstore, supermarket. All the usual stuff," I answered.

"Anywhere interesting to eat? Your mother said we'd be dining out this evening," Dimitri said, putting his book down to join the conversation.

"There was a diner that looked ok," Meredith answered.

Eddie was flicking through the motel's service directory. "Says there's Subway, McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco John's and heaps of restaurants."

"I don't care where we go, but I'm not sitting near Blake. He chews with his mouth open," Meredith said with a shudder.

The four of us ended up watching a movie while we waited for Mom to wake up. It was close to six by the time she knocked on Eddie and Dimitri's door.

"You guys ready to find some food?" she asked. "I thought we could walk up and see what's open?"

Eddie fetched Stan and Blake, and the seven of us walked the few blocks up to the main drag. We were walking as a group, but Mom ended up talking with Dimitri, so I chatted with Eddie and Meredith while Blake dolefully walked with Stan, the latter occasionally firing off a guarding question. Eventually, even Mom got the shits with it.

"Leave off, Alto. That's an order. The rest of us don't need to hear you bringing Ayett up to standard. You can resume after dinner." After that Stan and Blake walked in silence.

We ended up at a pizza place, ordering one family sized pizza apiece. You could tell the human waiter thought we were crazy, as the family sized pizzas were enormous. But between us, we managed to get through them all! I was sitting between Dimitri and Eddie, so hidden by the table I was rubbing my foot against Dimitri's. He was intentionally paying me very little attention, so I couldn't tell whether he liked it or not. Thinking he didn't give a shit, either way, I stopped; but a couple of seconds later his foot nudged mine, so with a little smile I started up again.

The walk home was pleasant. It was dark, but the street was well lit, and it seemed unlikely a group of three Guardians and four Novices would run into any trouble in such a sleepy town. Back at the hotel, we went to split up into our separate rooms.

"Rose? I've checked, and sunrise is 7 am. Meet me out the front of your room then for training. We'll run and see if we can improvise for some of your exercises."

I nodded my head, internally thrilled at the prospect of an hour or so alone with my love.

"You can join them, Ayett," Stan directed with a sneer. "Your fitness isn't what it should be. You don't mind, do you, Belikov?"

A glint in my lover's eye told me he minded every bit as much as I did, but there was nothing to be said. Tomorrow morning there'd be Dimitri, Blake and I. Sigh. Just when I thought I couldn't hate Stan any more than I already did.

"That's fine, but be prepared to work hard Novice Ayett. I have no time to waste with a Novice who can't keep up." I felt a little sorry for Blake. I had a feeling tomorrow morning was going to be the hardest workout of his life! With a final apologetic look, Dimitri disappeared through his hotel door, Eddie following. Stan and Blake walked into the next room along while Mom, Meredith and I went into our room.

Mom took the first shower, then Meredith, then me. By the time I came to bed, awkwardly climbing into the queen sized bed beside my mother, she was sitting propped up reading some Guardian reports.

"I didn't know you wore glasses," I said in surprise.

"Only for reading at night. Old age," she laughed. "I can turn out the lamp if it bothers you?" she offered.

"It's fine," I said. It was 9.30 pm Wyoming time, which made it 11.30 pm in Pennsylvania. "I'm just going to check in with Lissa…"

Mom knew about the bond between Lissa and me, although I don't think she'd seen it in action before. I closed my eyes and let myself slip into Lissa's mind. It was easily done; she was rather distracted as it was her first day at the Moroi school at Court. She was in between third and fourth periods and was walking through a sumptuously appointed corridor to a classroom.

This was _nothing_ like St. Vlad's! This classroom had plush carpet, was filled with armchairs, and had an honest to goodness _fireplace_ burning in the corner! It looked more like a fancy common room than a place of learning. Lissa stepped into class, holding hands with Christian. She was a little keyed up, but she was comforted to see Camille Conta and Abby Badica already in the room – so at least she knew people.

As I watched, Camille introduced Lissa and Christian to her friends and cousins, then Abby did likewise. Even amongst Moroi, Liss was special. The _only_ Dragomir, she was automatically head of the Dragomir clan, and as such held the title of Princess. Each family had one Prince or Princess who represented their family on the Royal Council, and Lissa was the youngest by at least forty years. While it would mean a lot of responsibility once she graduated, right now it had the benefit that everyone wanted to know her and were predisposed to be friendly.

I slipped back out of her head, opening my eyes to see my mother watching me curiously.

"Um – how is she? Did you talk?"

"The bond is one way, Mom. I can feel her and see through her eyes, but she doesn't know I'm there. She's in class, and everything's ok. Everyone's being nice to her."

"That's good then. It must be hard being away from each other?"

It was the first time my mother seemed to recognize the tie Lissa and I shared, and she didn't know the full extent of how the darkness worked.

"It's ok. It helps knowing she's happy and safe," I murmured, trying not to disturb Meredith who looked like she might be asleep. "I'll just text her to let her know I'm thinking of her."

I tapped out a quick message before I plugged my phone in to charge and rolled onto my side and closed my eyes.

"Night Rosemarie," my mother said softly before she turned out the light.

"Night, Mom," I said, already drifting off. In fact, I was probably three-quarters asleep when I realized that the only person to remember I'd turned eighteen today had been Dimitri.

* * *

I was up early Wednesday morning, slipping into my workout clothes and hoodie, letting myself noiselessly out of the hotel room right on 7 am. The sun was just coming up, and white clouds of frost came out of my mouth every time I exhaled. It was chilly, freezing if not below, but the streets were clear and it was relatively still so we should be ok for a run. I'd just started my stretches when Dimitri stepped out of his room.

"Morning Rose," he said in his deep soulful voice, his lips caressing my name tenderly.

"Morning, Comrade," I replied, peering up at him from beneath my lashes. He hadn't shaved yet, so his jaw had a hint of stubble that looked sexy as hell. "All ready to get hot and bothered?"

Dimitri's mouth opened to say something in reply but shut with an almost audible snap when the next door along opened and a bleary-eyed, belligerent looking Blake stepped out.

"It's four past seven, Ayett," Dimitri said coolly. I didn't want to mention he, himself, hadn't appeared until 7.02. "Since it's your first time training with us, I thought I'd go easy on you today. Five miles in half an hour."

I stifled a grin. It had taken me a week or two of training to get up to that time. Sure these days I could do that easily, but Blake was going to be in a world of pain by the time we got back.

"Five _miles?!"_ Blake gasped. "You've got to be kidding me?!"

"No. Of course, that's just our warm up. Then we train," Dimitri said, intentionally misunderstanding Blake's surprise.

"And you do this _every day?"_ Blake asked me in horror.

"Yep. Every day, twice a day. Most of the time we only run in the mornings, although if the gym is busy after classes, sometimes we run in the afternoons, too."

We stretched mostly in silence, Dimitri occasionally correcting Blake's technique. Then we pulled on our gloves and got going, my Russian God in the middle, Blake and I on either side. We'd barely gone three hundred yards when Blake started struggling. We were hardly going faster than a jog, and I could see there was no way he was going to make the distance. Beside me, Dimitri could see it, too.

"Let's start with a warm up mile," he suggested, pulling out his phone and mapping a one-mile course, ending back at the hotel. He and I both knew Blake would be lucky to make even that!

Running up to the main drag, we ran along the empty sidewalks, Dimitri and I commenting on some of the stores we passed. Nothing was open, although there were people inside in a few places setting up ready to open at 7.30 or 8.00.

"We'll have to come back later and shop," Dimitri commented as we passed a supermarket. "We've got a lot from the Academy kitchens, but there are a few extra things we'll need."

"What time are we expected at the location?" I queried.

"I think your Mom wants to be there by noon. It's a forty minute drive, so we'll probably check out, have a late breakfast, get the supplies, and then make our way there. The idea is to see what's there and I'll pick up anything extra we need when I go to Billings to get the St. Basil's Novices tomorrow."

"You'll be going?" I asked casually, but my Russian God knew the direction of my thoughts. It would be a long round trip. If I went, Dimitri and I could get at least three precious hours alone together.

"Yes. We're not sure about their standard of English, so your mother thought it best I am there to greet them."

"We must be close to a mile?" Blake gasped, struggling now we were climbing a very slight incline.

"Nine hundred and eighty yards," Dimitri said, consulting his phone. "Just over half way for the warm up mile."

Blake made a noise that sounded like a stuck pig, which was a rather apt comparison. Still – it wasn't much longer before we did a right-hand turn, starting the slow return to the hotel. Dimitri and I kept up an easy banter as we ran, mostly about what he was planning to cook on his nights on dinner duty.

"Can your mother cook?" he asked curiously, looking apologetic when he saw my shrug.

"I honestly have no idea. She's never cooked for me."

"Sounds like you don't know your mother at all," Blake said in a decidedly nasty tone of voice.

"Faster, Ayett," Dimitri snapped. "If you can talk you're not running fast enough!"

Dimitri lengthened his stride, and I followed suit - easily matching his increased speed. Blake, on the other hand, struggled even more than he already was. But Dimitri was right. There was _no_ chance he'd be able to talk now!

The hotel finally in sight, Dimitri suggested a final sprint. He and I took off at top speed, grateful to finally give our muscles a workout. Blake didn't even attempt to match us. If anything he slowed down. We waited for him out the front of the rooms, stretching and talking quietly as he caught up.

"That was a nice start. Shall we do our five miles now?" Dimitri asked.

"I don't think I can," a beetroot-faced Blake admitted. "That mile has done me in."

"Go inside and shower then have a hot drink," Dimitri growled dismissively. "And stretch. You're well below the fitness standard I'd expect of a Novice, Ayett. You'll be running every day while we're on this mission – and I worry even with that we'll have not enough time to prepare you adequately."

Dimitri and I turned to start our _real_ run when the door to Dimitri's room opened, and Eddie stepped out.

"Ok if I join you?" he asked. "I was about to go for a run myself, but if you're about to head off again…?"

"Sure thing, Castile," I said, concealing my disappointment. I loved my one-on-one training sessions with Dimitri, and it sucked to have one gate crashed. Twice. But we had to be careful not to appear to be spending too much time alone together. I was willing to give up our time this morning if it helped me score six hours in the car with Dimitri tomorrow!

The run was good, and we completed our five miles within thirty minutes.

"Well done, you two!" Dimitri enthused when we returned to the hotel, sweaty but feeling accomplished half an hour later. "Hot shower and a hot drink," he instructed, "and dress warmly. It's going to be cold where we're going."

* * *

After breakfast and shopping, we piled into the vehicles to make the final trip. I'd suggested we should mix things up, so volunteered to ride with Stan. It wasn't that I _wanted_ to, but it would be suspicious if I were always with Dimitri, so I ended up riding with Meredith and Alto, and Blake took my place in the other vehicle.

This time, Mom's car led. She'd mentioned that the road to the property was well concealed, so we'd be moving slowly when we got close. We drove out of Sheridan, heading south into a tiny town called Big Horn, after that slowly starting our climb into the mountains. Dimitri had been right to warn us to rug up. The temperature got colder the further we went. Following Red Grade Road, we trailed Mom's SUV until it slowed right down, finally making a left turn onto an almost invisible dirt road.

We twisted and turned a couple of times on a gravel track until the main road was completely obscured by trees, then the tires hit a smooth, well-maintained road. Stan drove mostly in silence. I was riding shotgun as his second, but after I'd performed the initial checks adequately, he seemed content to ride in silence. Checking Google Maps, I was surprised to see there was no hint of the road we were on – even on the photographic satellite images. Either the road was completely obscured by the trees, or someone had the pull to have it removed on the satellite imagery. Either way, I was unable to give Stan any hint of how much further we had to go.

When I was starting to wonder if we were _ever_ going to stop, the taillights on Mom's vehicle glowed red, and she pulled up to a stop outside a large stone fence, complete with large wrought iron ornamental gates. Stan pulled up behind the other SUV. We all stayed in the vehicle, as Mom had warned us, and she got out of the vehicle and walked to the gates some twenty yards away.

Standing on the other side of the locked gates was a man. We were too far away to see much, but even from here you could see his body language and that he was wary of getting too close to my mother. They conversed for a moment or two, the man gesturing behind him inside the property. A little more discussion, and then he pushed an envelope through part of the gates, slowly backing away and out of our sight. Mom watched until he'd left before stepping forward to take the envelope.

She walked back to the still running car, and a moment later the double gates swung open, and Stan followed Mom's vehicle into the property we'd presumably be calling home for the next three months.


	7. Chapter 7

Inside the gates we followed a paved driveway a hundred yards or so before taking the left fork and driving for another few hundred yards, pulling up alongside Mom's car outside a large three story Gothic stone building. We piled out, looking about us curiously.

The building itself was majestic. It was clearly old. The front featured the entry door beneath an ornate timber balcony, but to each side were windowed circular turrets. There were plenty of wood-framed windows on the ground and first floors, the top floor featuring tiny dormer windows in the conical red-shingled roof. It was the sort of place you expected to see in a historic district of an old town – not here in a heavily treed enclosure on a mountain in the middle of nowhere.

"It's freezing," Eddie muttered, shivering despite the hoodie he was wearing.

"I hope it has heating," I said, eyeing the house dubiously.

"Let's stop grumbling and start moving," Mom said, not looking thrilled, herself. "Bring everything in downstairs; then we'll work out the sleeping arrangements."

Digging in the large yellow envelope, Janine pulled out a set of keys, climbing the two front stairs and crossing the deep porch to open the broad front door. Gesturing everyone inside, one by one we followed her into an enormous open area. To one side was a dining room, the other a formal lounge area with prissy old-fashioned sofas and armchairs.

"Put all the stuff in the lounge, then we'll explore," she ordered.

Dimitri, Stan, Eddie, Blake, Meredith and I made short work of bringing in our duffel bags, quilts, pillows, coolers and the groceries. Placing them in piles in the lounge room, we followed Mom through the house, taking careful reconnaissance of the layout.

The ground floor seemed to consist of communal areas. A large rectangle, to the right of the entry hall was the dining room. Featuring an enormous mahogany table seating eighteen, there was also a glass fronted sideboard displaying an ornate dinner set, crystal glassware, and silver. Although the place was relatively clean and dust free, somehow it had the air of a place that was rarely, if ever, used.

From the dining room, we filed through a doorway to an area my mother declared to be a butler's pantry before heading through another door to an enormous kitchen and meals area. Painted in white, the area was scrupulously clean. The closest end had a large wooden table with sturdy timber chairs. The other end featured a fully kitted turn of the century kitchen, including a massive cast iron range and a central butcher's block bench. Well lit by large windows on two walls, the room would be a nightmare to defend but was bright and pleasant.

"I haven't seen one of those since I was a bairn," my mother muttered, going over to look at the wood fired stove. "My Nan was in service and used to cook on one of these. I can remember visiting her as a wee thing and watching her bake."

I spun to face my mother in shock. I'd never heard anything about my grandmother, let alone my _mother's_ grandmother! Somehow I'd assumed Mom knew as little about her family as I did of mine. It looked like there was a whole family history I knew nothing about. It was a depressing thought.

Checking the doors from the kitchen, one led to an enormous larder, which was empty other than a couple of modern deep freezers and a fridge. Stan stepped forward to open them, discovering they were empty and spotless; all ready to accommodate our food. I looked to the doorframes, noting there _were_ light switches. So at least the house was wired. Here's hoping the power was on!

Another door off the kitchen led to a mudroom in the rear center of the house, which contained a washer, dryer, wood store, a door to a downstairs bathroom and the back door. The third door led back into the entry hall, to the side of the stairs leading upwards. On the other side of the entryway was the lounge room where we'd piled our belongings, a library with floor to ceiling bookcases, well stocked with leather-bound tomes and comfortable looking leather sofas. The library connected via an arch to what looked like a gentleman's study. Finally in the back left corner was what was probably meant to be a ladies' sitting room.

Heading back out into the entry, we followed Dimitri and my mother up the central carpeted stairs. Situated in the middle of the house, the stairs led to a large landing that was illuminated by a fancy stained glass window. From here, secondary stairs led to the right and the left – to the two wings of the home.

Arbitrarily choosing the left, Mom led as we followed her down the corridor. We passed two single bedrooms, then a bathroom, then a larger bedroom with twin beds, a door to stairs running upward, before arriving at double bedroom contained within the front left turret. With round walls and windows on almost every side, it was a gorgeous room. Decorated in a faded dusky pink, I noticed there were embroidered roses on some of the cushions and the curtains.

There was a landing running across the front of the house, with another two stained glass windows, and a set of doors leading out onto a verandah. We crossed this to check out the right-hand side of the building. Almost identical to the left, the turret bedroom here was decorated in more masculine dusky blues. Beside it was a twin, then the bathroom, then another two singles – much like the opposite side

"Eight bedrooms. Two will have to share," my mother commented.

For a fleeting moment, I allowed myself to fantasize that Dimitri and I would be the ones to share a room together. Yeah – I knew it would never happen – but a girl is allowed to dream, right?!

Returning to the left-hand wing, Mon cautiously opened the door leading to the top floor. Dimitri gingerly climbed the steep stairs, followed by my mother, ordering Stan, and us Novices to remain below while they checked it out. They were only gone a few minutes before they came back downstairs.

"Dusty and uninhabitable," my mother declared.

"There's a couple of unfurnished servant's bedrooms and an open area at the front. I say we leave it alone," Dimitri agreed with a smile.

"So where are we going to sleep?" Stan grumbled. It had just gone midday, but it had already been a trying day.

My mother paused and thought for a moment.

"I'll take the pink round room, Stan you have the turret room on the other side. Dimitri? Can you take the one to the right of the main landing? Rose, you take the one opposite on the left. Meredith and the Russian lass can each have a room in the left wing. Castile and Ayett, you'll share so the Russian lad can have his own room. Us girls can share the bathroom on this side; you guys the other."

As room allocations went, it was ok. I'd be across the landing from my Russian God, with only one neighbor, and at least I got my own room. Eddie and Blake both seemed irritated that they'd be sharing. If Dimitri was annoyed at the prospect of a single bed, he didn't let on – merely nodding at my mother's suggested arrangements.

"Sorry about the room," my mother muttered to Dimitri as Stan, and the others went downstairs to get their belongings. "You, Stan, Rosemarie and I are the strongest fighters. It makes sense to have us situated in each corner."

She hadn't come out and said it, but Dimitri was much better in a fight than Stan. Mom had put my Russian God on the corner diagonally opposite hers to balance the load in case of an attack. Still – it was flattering she'd chosen me as the fourth.

We quickly moved our belongings to our respective rooms before coming downstairs to put the food into the refrigerator and freezer. A quick flick of the light switches revealed we had power, although Dimitri soberly announced that there didn't appear to be any heating beyond the inefficient fireplaces, and that which was supplied by ductwork attached to the kitchen stove.

"We'll need to run it all day and night, but once these stoves are up and running they're surprisingly efficient," he said optimistically.

"How would you know?" Stan snapped, getting more irritated by the minute.

"Russia is one of the coldest places on earth, Guardian Alto," Dimitri explained as though he were conversing with a simpleton. "We tend to know a bit about heating…"

My room was plain but comfortable, decorated in a faded yet pretty blue toile. Someone had evidently been expecting us; the linens were fresh, and I was happy to note that when I flopped onto the bed, the mattress didn't squeak and was less lumpy than the one I'd had at St. Vlad's.

Meeting the others back downstairs in the kitchen, Mom was looking at the pile of groceries on the large kitchen table in bewilderment.

"I'd assumed there'd be a microwave…" she muttered.

"Shall I cook lunch, Janine?" Dimitri offered cheerfully as he walked in through the mudroom. He'd set Stan, Eddie, and Blake up outside chopping wood for the kitchen stove.

"Could you?" Janine replied gratefully. "I'm not much of a cook, and I need to get across the information about our mission," she explained holding up the envelope by way of explanation, hightailing it out of the kitchen as quickly as possible – but not before we all caught her relieved look.

"Let's do soup and bread for lunch," Dimitri suggested, gathering supplies off the table and bringing them across to the workbench to get started.

Almost immediately ascertaining I was hopeless at anything beyond basic food preparation, Dimitri had Meredith and I chopping meat and vegetables and then moving the kitchen supplies into the larder while he mixed and kneaded dough. Standing at the bench, humming as he worked, there was something manly and very sexy about the way he went about his preparations. Happy to find the kitchen well stocked with all the bowls and trays he needed, within half an hour he had a basic meat and vegetable soup simmering on the newly lit range, and five balls of dough rising.

"The secret is to let it rise twice," he explained to Meredith and me, showing us how he was putting the dough on a shelf above the stove to rise, covering each with a clean dishcloth. "We'll leave it there to double in size. Come on – let's help the guys bring in the logs."

We carted split logs inside, filling the large area beside the stove as well as a secondary area off the mudroom. While it seemed like a mountain of wood, Dimitri assured us we'd get through it quickly enough, and that we'd need to chop logs for at least an hour every day to keep up with the stove's demands. Soon enough, Dimitri was knocking the risen dough into oiled loaf tins and adding pearled barley to the soup to thicken it, before getting Meredith and me to set the table. I had to hand it to the man – the meal smelled mouth-watering.

Dimitri called us all to the table for our late lunch, spooning large serves of soup into plain white bowls. Helping ourselves to hunks of freshly baked bread, and smothering it with butter, the soup was awesome. Way better than _anything_ we'd get at St. Vladimir's.

"That was delicious, thank you, Dimitri," my mother said after her third bowlful, the rest of us chiming in with our compliments. Rich, plentiful and meaty, it had been just the thing to satisfy Dhampir sized appetites; especially in this cold weather.

"So I've gone through the information provided, and it looks like we're here as a precautionary measure," my mother started to explain. "The Alchemists who work out of this location are also involved in tracking the movements of Strigoi. Recently, a few separate groups passed close to this area, heading north. In retrospect, we know they were probably part of the attack on St. Vladimir's. While it is not believed Strigoi are aware of this facility, until it's certain they are not returning this way our presence has been requested."

"How close are we talking?'" Dimitri asked.

"They used the main road we turned off to travel through the mountains, and they stayed for several days some twenty miles from here. The same spot was used by several groups over the course of a month."

It wasn't super close, but it was close enough for discomfort considering we were in the middle of nowhere. Plus the fact that different groups had stayed in the same place suggested a degree of coordination.

"Where did they stay?" I asked, trying to get a clearer picture of what we were up against.

"An old ranger's station. It's been abandoned for a couple of decades. There's no sign Strigoi have returned to it since the attacks on St. Vladimir's, but there's a chance they might."

"So we sit here and wait? Just in case they come back this way?" I asked incredulously.

"Pretty much," my mother admitted. "By all accounts, the chances of an attack are slim. We killed a lot of Strigoi during the St. Vladimir's attack and rescue, and those who survived might well be headed elsewhere. However, Strigoi are aware of the existence of the Alchemists, so it's prudent to be wary."

"Hope you like ward patrol at night, guys," Stan said with a sigh.

"Actually, that won't be necessary. We've been requested to do patrols of the ranger's cabin. The idea is to drive to between five and ten miles of the cabin, then hike in and out of the area in daylight hours."

Blake was staring at his empty soup bowl morosely. I was willing to bet if he hated running, he was going to _despise_ hiking!

"I'll set up a schedule, but we'll go every second day, one Guardian with two Novices," she explained.

No one was thrilled about it, but we all knew better than to complain.

"What will the ones not hiking do?" Blake asked.

"When you're not involved in surveillance, you'll be cooking, doing housework, training, and occupied in teaching intensives," Mom said promptly.

Great! Hiking, and Guardian boot camp with Mom and Stan. The only redeeming feature of this gig was being with Dimitri! It was this, or him being sent to stay with Tasha, I quickly reminded myself.

Mom spent another half hour running us through the rules of the compound, which basically consisted of staying away from the as yet unseen 'main building' and not going near any human we might see. After that, she dismissed us to unpack.

I picked up the soup bowls, taking them across to the large apron front sink. Happy that the hot water was fast and plentiful, I found the dishwashing liquid in the supplies we'd brought, and half filled the sink, washing the bowls and spoons. Dimitri scooped the leftover soup into a bowl and covered it with cling film, putting it into the refrigerator before passing me the saucepan to wash. My mother stood to one side watching us. I really wanted to hang out and talk with Dimitri, but it looked like Mom had the same idea.

"Ok – I'll go unpack now," I said, putting the saucepan to dry on the drainer.

"Good idea. You could perhaps check on Vasilisa," Mom suggested.

"It's 4 pm there. Anything Liss and Christian are doing at this hour, believe me, I don't want to know about it," I joked, raising my eyebrows.

"You can see when she's doing _that?"_ my mother gasped in surprise.

"I kind of feel with my mind before I slip into her head," I explained. "I get a sense of her mood first. If she's… occupied… I can tell and get out of there before I see anything. Unless I'm asleep. If I'm asleep, and she has strong emotions, I get sucked right in, and it's like I'm there." I shuddered. Nothing worse than being in someone else's head while they were getting it on!

"How horribly _invasive!"_ my mother said with a revolted look.

"Yep, it's no picnic," I acknowledged.

"I meant for Vasilisa," Mom said almost absently.

I sighed, turning toward the door to the entry hall.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course you did."

* * *

Despite the new room and bed, I'd slept like a baby. It probably hadn't hurt that Dimitri had cooked an enormous roast with baked vegetables followed by an apple crumble for dessert. I had stuffed myself until I could barely move, as had the rest of us. Coming from the Academy, hot fresh food not congealing for hours in a bain-marie was a novelty.

Emerging into the kitchen the next morning, I was astounded to see Alto standing at the range working three cast iron frypans. As well as pan-fried sausages and bacon, he was making stack after stack of fluffy pancakes. Catching my astonished glance, he smiled and cheerily acknowledged, "I'm not much of a cook, but I _can_ do a decent breakfast."

Mom was cutting up fruit at the butcher's block, while the rest of us loitered around, stomachs grumbling. Blake and Eddie set the table while Meredith and I helped bring over platters loaded with food.

"Eat up," Mom advised as she brought a dish with fruit salad to the table. "Dimitri is going to collect the Novices from St. Basil's today, and the rest of us will hike to the ranger's cabin."

My heart sank, and I tried to hide my disappointment. More than anything, I'd wanted some alone time with Dimitri - but there was no point complaining. My eyes flicked to Dimitri's where he sat at the end of the table, and I could tell he was also disappointed.

I was shoveling down Stan's admittedly superb pancakes when my phone rang. Fishing it out of my pants, I checked the caller ID.

"I'd better answer it," I said apologetically, seeing my mother's irritated look. "It's Lissa, and she promised not to call unless it was important."

I stood up and took my empty dish to the sink, answering then listening as Lissa spoke a million miles an hour, apologizing for forgetting my birthday the day before yesterday. Tapping into the bond, I could see she'd gone to write today's date on something a few minutes before, and it was then she'd twigged she'd completely forgotten my special day. Her guilt was off the Richter scale.

"Hey, calm down," I laughed. "It's ok, Liss. No harm done. Honestly, I've been so busy I almost forgot it myself!"

"Why didn't you _remind_ me? I'm the worst best friend ever!" Lissa wailed. From her voice, I could tell she was crying.

Sure, I'd been upset that Dimitri had been the _only_ one to remember the day I officially became an adult, but it didn't mean I wanted Lissa beating herself up about it.

"Seriously it's ok, Liss. I had a _great_ day! I spent the whole day with Mom, and we all had dinner out in the town we stayed at on the way to our mission. They got me a big cake and sang happy birthday, and there were pressies and everything. It was _every bit_ as embarrassing as you would have made it if you could have been there."

"But I _forgot!_ It wasn't that I couldn't be there – I didn't remember," she wailed. "It's your biggest birthday, and I forgot!"

"Don't lose your head, Liss! You've had so much on. I know you didn't forget on purpose. I had a _great_ day! Please don't waste any more time being upset about it. I was spoiled rotten, I promise!"

I was grateful when Liss was called to dinner, so I had an excuse to say goodbye. I could tell she still felt guilty, but she'd bought my bullshit, so was feeling a bit better about things. Pocketing my phone, I turned back to the breakfast table to see everyone looking at me in silence.

"It was your birthday, wasn't it?" Eddie finally asked, breaking the silence. "Your eighteenth?"

"On Tuesday," I said with a tight smile. "Lissa's flipping out because with everything going on she forgot."

The mood at the table was tense. Everyone was trying to look anywhere other than at my mother or me. My mother was avoiding my eyes as well, truth be told.

"Why did you lie to her?" Meredith asked.

"She's already beating herself up that she forgot," I replied with a shrug. "What good is it going to do if I tell her that no one else remembered, either?"


	8. Chapter 8

I was upstairs in my room looking out the window half an hour later when I heard a knock on the door.

"Come," I said, expecting my mother.

The door opened and closed, and I smelled aftershave a moment before Dimitri wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"Hey," he whispered, nuzzling my hair.

"Hey," I replied, spinning in his arms to lay my head against his chest.

"Your Mom feels horrible about forgetting your birthday."

"But not horrible enough to come and tell me so herself," I muttered.

Dimitri rubbed my back soothingly.

"I'm sorry, Ангел."

"It's ok. Not _everyone_ forgot," I said, looking up at him tenderly. "And I didn't really expect her to remember - she hasn't in the past."

"Not ever?"

"I don't think so. I get a card and fifty dollars from her every year, but when I was eight I twigged the handwriting was Alberta's…"

I could feel Dimitri's chest rumble with an angry growl.

"Besides, I got the birthday present I _really_ wanted… I got to spend the day with you."

Leaning up, I brushed my lips against his, moaning softly in approval as his arms tightened around me.

"So would a trip to Billings today cheer you up, do you think?" he asked huskily.

"Really!?" I gasped.

"Yes. We're leaving in fifteen minutes. There's a list of things we need, so we're going earlier so we can shop in Billings before we meet the plane. Wear something nice – I'm going to take you to lunch."

I nodded excitedly, accepting a final kiss before he released me and went down the stairs to prepare for our departure. Digging in my closet, I pulled out the only dress I'd packed, teaming it with leggings and a shapeless hoodie I'd discard later on. I put a tiny bit of makeup on and brushed my hair carefully before putting it up into a ponytail. I'd take it out in the car, so I could wear it loose the way Dimitri liked it – but it wouldn't do to have Mom or the others see me dressed up like I was going on a date!

Grabbing my bag I wandered downstairs to the kitchen, expecting to see Dimitri there, but instead, Mom was sitting with a pile of hiking and surveyor's maps at the kitchen table, presumably planning a route to the ranger's cabin.

"You're ready to go to Billings, then?" she asked, only a little awkwardly.

"Yep. Dimitri said there was shopping to do. Do you have a list?"

"I've given it to Guardian Belikov already," she replied, looking at me warily. "Rosemarie? I'm sorry I didn't remember your birthday. I knew it was coming up, but with the surprise of the attack, the rescue and the closing of the Academy, I got caught up, and it slipped my mind…"

"It's ok," I lied. "I seriously almost forgot it myself. I mean, when you come down to it, it's just another day."

We could both hear my voice wasn't quite right, and that I was probably lying, but she nodded anyway.

"Well, I thought perhaps you might like to get yourself something nice today in Billings? And you could bring back a cake if you'd like? You and Guardian Belikov will need to stop at the mall anyway…" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a fifty, passing it to me.

"Thanks, Mom," I said plastering a fake smile on my face. "That's really thoughtful of you."

She smiled tightly, and I think both of us were relieved when Dimitri came into the kitchen from the mudroom a second later.

"All ready to go, Rose?" he asked in his professional voice.

"Sure am. Let's go get ourselves some Russian Novices," I laughed. "You've refused to teach me to curse in Russian – maybe I'll have better luck with them!"

"Rosemarie! Behave for Guardian Belikov! Don't make him regret agreeing to take you," my mother admonished.

"Will do," I said with a playful salute, shoving Mom's fifty into my bag and following Dimitri to the SUV.

We drove in silence to the gates, waiting as they automatically swung open for us to exit. It wasn't until we'd negotiated the turn back onto the main road that Dimitri spoke.

"All ok with your Mom?"

"As ok as it ever is," I joked mirthlessly. "She gave me a fifty and told me to buy myself something in Billings."

I reached across and rested my hand on Dimitri's thigh. He smiled, holding my hand briefly before returning his hand to the wheel to negotiate the winding roads.

"So how'd you convince Mom to let me come to Billings?"

"It was her idea. I think she wanted to give you a treat."

"Life is pretty shit when a morning in Billings is a treat," I said flippantly, immediately regretting it when I saw a frown cross my Russian God's face. "Of course – getting you all to myself _is_ a treat!" I quickly added, stroking his thigh.

We drove in silence for a while, Dimitri's hand on top of mine now we were back onto relatively straight roads.

"Comrade? What's going to happen once I graduate?" I asked nervously. It had barely been a week since we'd become lovers, so other than the brief talk we'd had after the attack, we hadn't really talked things through.

"I've been thinking about that," Dimitri admitted, his fingers softly stroking mine. "What if I guarded Christian?"

My mouth was open ready to object, but nothing came out.

"He's planning to go to Lehigh with Vasilisa. They'll almost certainly share a house. If I was guarding him, we could even live together if you wanted."

"As a couple?" I whispered, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Maybe? We have a lot to figure out, but I know how I feel…" he replied in a husky voice.

I was unable to speak. The idea of living with Dimitri was simply so much more than I'd ever dreamed of.

"Too much, Ангел?"

"No," I said breathlessly. "I _love_ the idea. It's just a lot to take in…"

"We don't need to make any decisions right now," he reassured me. "I don't want to rush you."

"I'm not feeling rushed," I said, struggling to find the right words. "It's just hard to imagine being together and not having to hide it."

He picked my hand up from his thigh and lifted it to his lips.

"Soon, Roza," he crooned. "Do you think Vasilisa will approve?" he asked, now the one sounding nervous. She was my best friend, after all. More than a best friend. My sister.

"I'm sure she'll be great with it - once she stops squealing that is," I said with a laugh.

Dimitri chuckled – a rich, warm sound that made my heart soar. We sat in companionable silence, me turning over the idea of living together in my mind. I'd never lived with anyone but Lissa. But she had Christian now, and I knew it was serious, so the chances were they'd be living together at college. If Dimitri were Christian's Guardian, we'd see each other all the time, and there'd be a lot less scrutiny than if we were at Court.

"I love you," I said.

Dimitri smiled. "That came out of nowhere. What brought that on?"

"Nothing. I just haven't had the chance to tell you in the last few days," I said, blushing a little.

"I love you too, Roza," he said sweetly, bringing my hand to his lips again.

* * *

Being in love made even a trip to the supermarket exciting. Dimitri pushed the trolley as I flitted around, cajoling him for all sorts of things not on the shopping list.

"Comrade! These things taste great!" I squealed finding the pop tarts. "We _have_ to get these!"

Dimitri looked at the box I held dubiously.

"Seriously. I promise you, your mouth will thank you!" I tempted.

"You said that about the twinkies _and_ the pepperoni pizza hot pockets," he reasoned.

"Because they're all _awesome!_ Please, Comrade? I haven't had them since Portland… _"_

"Ok, but nothing more. Your mother will kill me if I come back with a bunch of junk food."

He walked by my side, getting the washing powder, soap, scouring pads, toilet paper, plus all the extra food we needed. It all added up; seven, soon to be nine Dhampir ate _a lot_. Even with an almost full deep freeze, thanks to the St. Vladimir's kitchens, we still needed to shop big to keep us all fed.

"Guardian Alto has volunteered to take care of breakfast, your mother is in charge of lunch, and I've volunteered to make dinner each night," Dimitri confided, ordering two pounds each of bologna, salami, and ham from the deli. "And you should know, as part of her roster, you Novices will be taking it in turns getting cooking lessons from me."

"Cooking lessons?" I laughed. "Comrade? I can burn water!"

"Then you'll need to be rostered on with me more often so I can teach you," he said happily, grabbing a lock of my long hair and tickling me on the end of the nose with it.

"I think my mother could use a few cooking lessons herself," I joked. "Looking at her list, we're going to be eating sandwiches for lunch every day for three months…"

Dimitri laughed, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me to him. Our lips locked in the middle of the pasta and pasta sauce aisle, and neither of us gave a shit who saw!

Finally finished at the supermarket, we packed the trunk and climbed into the SUV before Dimitri checked his watch.

"We have an hour and a quarter until we should get to the airport. Can I take you to lunch, Roza?"

"That sounds wonderful," I said with a smile, beyond excited about going on an honest to freaking goodness _date_ with my Russian God.

"How about here?" he asked, pulling up out the front of a restaurant called Jake's Bar and Grill.

"Looks great," I said shyly.

Dimitri turned off the car and warned me to remain in my seat before he came around to the passenger door to open it for me.

"That's very chivalrous," I complimented, embarrassed but flattered.

"It's no more than you deserve," he replied, giving me a smoldering look.

Holding the door open, we walked into the restaurant. It was large but quite dark, and even though it was lunchtime, it wasn't too busy.

"A table for two, please," Dimitri asked the server melodiously, his arm casually draped around my waist. We followed her to a charming table just a little apart from the other diners. As expected, Dimitri held my chair out for me before he seated himself beside me, grabbing my hand and holding it on top of the table. He laid a menu between us.

"Order whatever you want," he said, his eyes perusing what was on offer. I should have been looking at what I wanted to order, but instead, I found myself looking at him. I leaned across and kissed the side of his face.

"Thank you for this," I said, meaning the time together as well as the lunch.

He turned to face me, giving me one of his megawatt smiles.

"It's my pleasure, Roza. I've always wanted to take you on a proper date."

Smiling, I looked at the menu, hoping something appealed. As it turned out, _everything_ appealed – my stomach voicing its approval by grumbling.

"I think I might have the Beartooth Burger," I said, having no idea what avocado pico de gallo was, but hoping it tasted alright.

"That looks good," Dimitri agreed, "but I think I might have the Cowboy Buffalo Burger." He looked up as he said it, expecting me to have something to say.

"Seriously, Comrade? It's the name, isn't it?!"

He gave me a warm, relaxed smile.

"Maybe a little," he conceded. "Although I _have_ wanted to try buffalo for a while."

"Whatever floats your boat," I said, personally finding the idea a bit gross.

We placed our orders, then sat holding hands and smiling at each other.

"I've missed time with you," Dimitri said, breaking the silence. "But starting tomorrow, we'll get back into our training."

"Just you, me and Blake," I grumbled.

A look crossed his face but was gone almost before I caught it.

"It _is_ just you, me and Blake, right?"

"I'm afraid not. Your mother has it all figured out. She wants me to take turns working with all the Novices. We'll work together every third morning."

"Every third day?" I wailed. "I don't think I can cope not starting our day together," I said, my previous good mood dissipating fast.

"We'll still be seeing each other every day, Ангел. Between hiking, cooking, our training, sharing meals, Guardian lessons and the rest of it, we'll be spending _plenty_ of time together," he reassured, stroking my hand softly.

"But not alone," I said, a single tear rolling down my cheek. "I want time just you and me!"

"I do too," he whispered, leaning forward to kiss me. "We'll find ways to be alone, I promise. Maybe we can do a run together in the afternoons? Now how about I see a smile?" he coaxed.

I pouted but eventually smiled at his loving look, leaning forward and claiming another kiss.

* * *

"That will be the plane," Dimitri said as a United aircraft taxied toward the terminal. We shared a final lingering embrace, and the softest of kisses, before moving apart – our alone time now at an end.

We watched as the passengers disembarked before two teenagers walked down the gangway, looking about them curiously.

"That will be them," I said plastering a friendly smile on my face. They spotted us at the same time as we saw them, and walked over to where we were standing.

"Elizaveta and Artyom?" Dimitri asked.

They looked like siblings. Both tall and slim, Elizaveta was about three inches taller than me, and a little more willowy. While she was curvier than a Moroi, she didn't have my hips or bust. She had mousy brown hair cut short at the back tapering into a bob at the front. It was a modern look, and it suited her. Artyom was an inch or two taller than his sister with the same colored hair. Also lean, he had the look of a teenager yet to 'fill out.'

Hearing Dimitri's accent, Elizaveta started speaking in Russian at a hundred miles an hour. Dimitri answered politely, and I stood there with no idea of what was being said, watching Elizaveta and Dimitri converse while Artyom looked at me.

"What's your English like?" Dimitri said, switching out of his native tongue.

"We both speak English," Artyom said, speaking for the first time in a heavily accented voice. He held out his hand and introduced himself to Dimitri, before repeating the gesture to me.

"Rose Hathaway," I said, giving him a welcoming smile. "I'm one of the St. Vladimir's Novices," I explained.

"Pleased to meet you," Artyom said. "Can I introduce my sister Elizaveta."

We smiled at each other, and then Dimitri was shepherding us across to the baggage claim then we were making our way to the SUV.

"It's a little full in the trunk as we've bought groceries," he warned.

"The trunk?" Elizaveta asked in confusion.

Dimitri slipped into Russian for a moment, explaining what he meant. I know it was silly, but I was simultaneously a little turned on to hear him speaking his native language, but also annoyed I had no idea what he was saying.

The car packed, Dimitri climbed into the driver's seat, and I automatically jumped into the passenger seat, performing the tasks of a second.

"We're good to go," I said giving him a smile.

We pulled out of the carpark, merging into traffic, starting the three-hour journey back to the facility. Dimitri gave them a basic overview of the mission, also explaining there'd be a roster for just about everything.

"So how did you two end up coming over here?" I asked curiously. I knew I was here because my Academy had closed, but theirs hadn't.

"We are the top Novices in the final year," Elizaveta explained. "When your Academy was attacked and had to close, they sent many of your senior Novices to St. Basil's. Since we were already top of our classes, Guardian Sokolov decided to send us here for the mission so he could take in another two lesser trained students from your Academy."

It might just have been the translation, but it seriously sounded like she was ragging on the abilities of St. Vlad's students. I was about to say something cutting when Dimitri cleared his throat, and I knew he was warning me to bite my tongue.

I smiled, saying nothing. However, I wasn't about to let her get away completely scot-free. So I casually pulled the hair tie off my wrist and looped my long hair up into a bun on the top of my head.

"Dimitri? Can I put on some music?" I asked, leaning slightly in my seat to reach for the radio controls.

"You're tattooed?" Artyom said in surprise when he copped a look at my neck. "Are they from the attack on your academy?"

"The zvezda is," I said with feigned nonchalance, settling onto a station playing current hits. "Two of the molnija are from the rescue, and the other two are from another incident."

As anticipated, Elizaveta said shit. I'd noticed her neck wasn't inked, and neither was her brother's.

"I've never seen a zvezda before," Artyom said, leaning forward slightly. "May I?" he asked.

I nodded and leaned to the side. He reached out to my neck, lifting a stray lock of hair up to look more closely. In the driver's seat beside me, I could see Dimitri tense.

"A mark of power and honor," Artyom said in a reverent voice. "It's beautiful."

"Um, thanks," I said a little awkwardly, moving back into my seat and sneaking a look at Dimitri. He'd calmed down a little, but I could see his jaw was still a bit tight.

For the rest of the way we talked generalities; mostly the twins wanting to know about how different things were done in America and then Dimitri asking them about people back at St. Basil's. I was content to sit back and listen, chiming in every now and again to explain things as necessary.

Before I knew it, we were driving through Sheridan and then up into the mountains. Even with a pin drop on google maps, we almost missed the hidden turnoff to the property, and I suppressed a giggle seeing the sibling's faces as we transitioned from a twisting gravel road to a paved, smooth driveway leading up to the stone wall and ornate front gates. We pulled up and waited for a moment before the wide gates swung open, granting us admittance.

Dimitri deftly steered us across to the house, pulling up beside the other vehicle out the front.

"Here we are," I chirped cheerfully as we opened the doors and piled out of the car, stretching our muscles. "Home sweet home for the next three months!"


	9. Chapter 9

First impressions were called that for a reason. Often they were completely incorrect. But sometimes what you saw was what you got. So it went with the twins. Being the best female Novice at St. Basil's, Elizaveta considered herself God's gift to fighting and dropped numerous unsubtle comments to remind the others, but particularly Meredith and I, where she felt we stood in relation to her.

Artyom was as sweet and sensitive as his sister wasn't. He was also into me in a major way. It was a little annoying, although he was harmless enough. If anything, it was cute seeing the way his persistent attentions irritated Dimitri!

They'd been here three days, and I was outside with Meredith chopping wood. As per almost every aspect of our days, this had been rostered by my mother. Dimitri had been right – we did need a lot of wood to keep the wood fired stove burning – so on the days Novices weren't training with him, we'd be rostered to chop wood. It was good exercise, and I didn't mind it. It was also far enough away from the house that you could talk without being overheard.

"So how good is she?" I asked Meredith. The training combinations varied, and so far I hadn't been rostered to train with Elizaveta, so I wasn't sure just how good a fighter she was. But we were due to train with Dimitri tomorrow morning, so I wanted the low down on what to expect.

"She's fast," Meredith said, "but I think your punches are stronger. And she uses moves I've not seen before, although you might know them from Belikov," she consoled. "First round she had me down in about four minutes," Meredith admitted ruefully. "The second time it took her about six minutes."

I nodded to myself, walking across to pick up another log to split.

"Did Dimitri give you much direction or spar with either of you?" I asked, trying to be subtle in my inquiries.

"Heaps of directions, although more for me than her. He didn't spar with either of us – just made us practice moves against one another."

I smiled internally. I'd seen Dimitri spar Artyom yesterday, and pin him in about a minute. Of course, my Russian God had known I was watching – and I was sure I hadn't imagined the smug expression when he'd annihilated the young man in an androcentric display that seemed to have more in common with a peacock showing off his feathers than any sort of teaching.

"He really is a God, isn't he?" Meredith commented.

I had my back to Meredith so allowed myself a little smile. "Yeah, he's a hell of a fighter," I replied, not voicing my other thoughts about the Godlike Dimitri.

Hauling the logs inside to the mudroom and kitchen, Meredith went upstairs to shower, while I plonked myself down at the kitchen table to watch Dimitri instruct Eddie and Artyom how to cook. The latter was already quite proficient, so Dimitri had him making bread while he and Eddie focused on preparing the crumbed chicken, mashed potato and steamed vegetables we'd be having for dinner.

Watching my love, I had to wonder whether this is how it would be if we lived together - in the kitchen side by side. I'd only had one cooking lesson so far with Dimitri, but it had been fun. He wasn't teaching us anything amazing – just simple, nourishing home cooking that could be prepared relatively quickly and easily. Still, my Russian God's food left the Academy's for dead. Even when he'd used the bag of premade meatballs in sauce provided by the Academy, he'd simmered it for hours, adding bacon, fresh tomatoes, and herbs, resulting in a rich, flavorsome sauce. Served with pasta and homemade garlic bread, it had been so much better than the bland spaghetti and meatballs we'd endured at the school.

"Shower's free if you want to freshen up before dinner," Meredith said coming back downstairs. Blake and Elizaveta were in the library going over some theory with Stan, and Mom was in the study adding to her report to submit to Court.

Mom and Stan had led the other Novices to the ranger's cabin on Thursday while Dimitri and I collected the twins. Yesterday, Dimitri had done a hiking surveillance mission with Artyom and Blake while the rest of us had teaching intensives with Mom and Stan. Eddie and Meredith had copped Stan, while Elizaveta and I had been with Mom. She'd gone through the protocols of dealing with Alchemists, which was interesting given we were staying at one of their locations.

So far, we'd seen no sign of anyone. We'd been warned to stay away from the 'main building' which we eventually divined was a large structure concealed almost entirely underground. Situated in the direct center of the huge fenced enclosure, all that could be seen of the building was an angled thick concrete roof about two foot above the ground at its highest. With foot-high windows just under the roofline on one side, a set of concrete stairs on each side leading to what appeared to be reinforced steel doors, and a reinforced double garage door with a driveway running to it, it looked impregnable. We really had no reason to go anywhere near it, so had left the structure entirely alone.

"Actually, I thought I might go for a run," I said casually, watching Dimitri's reaction from the corner of my eye. I could see he'd almost finished the preparations he was doing with Eddie.

"I'll join you, Rose," he quickly volunteered. "Castile, you can stay here and help Vitsin with the bread and rolls," he ordered, effectively thwarting the two likely to want to come with us.

I had to laugh. Artyom was clearly unhappy about missing an opportunity to spend time with me. I was already in sweats, as was Dimitri, so we headed out the back door without delay.

"Jog to the other side of the enclosure – we'll do our warm up stretches there," he muttered, and I immediately complied. While Elizaveta had shown no interest in Dimitri per se, she was annoyingly ready to volunteer for any extra opportunities to work with my Russian God or my mother. If she'd witnessed us warming up, there was a good chance she'd want to join us.

"Alone at last!" I moaned as we stopped at the furthest point from the house. The fenced area was enormous, so we were well out of sight of either of the buildings.

"Yes," Dimitri grinned, grasping me around the waist and pulling me against him beneath the rays of the red, red sun. "I've missed you so much!" he growled, peppering my face and lips with delicate kisses.

"I've missed you, too!" I replied, standing on my tiptoes to brush my lips against his. "This living with other people is hell! I hate not being able to touch you or have our privacy."

"I hate watching Vitsin throw himself at you," Dimitri growled.

"Throw himself?" I laughed, nuzzling against my man's chest. "More like give me a couple of hopeful looks."

"I don't like it," Dimitri grumbled mulishly.

"You don't need to worry. All my thoughts center around a tall, handsome Russian _Guardian._ He's the only one I want to spend my time with."

"I hope so," Dimitri said, sounding a little anxious. "I know three months is a long time when I can't show you how much I love you."

"You show me every day," I said, and I meant it. Whether it was a loving look or a whispered word, we'd been able to reassure one another we still cared.

"So I'll be training with you and Elizaveta tomorrow," I said as we reluctantly broke apart and started our stretches. "How good is she?"

"Pretty good," he said. "She's St. Basil's top female student for a reason."

My heart sank. I didn't think I was the best fighter in the world or anything, but I'd become used to Dimitri's praise, and I didn't like the idea of another Novice getting it instead.

"Any clues for when we spar? I'd hate to be wiped out straight off without putting up a decent fight…" I said leadingly.

"Watch her right punch. She does a mean double punch, but almost always precedes it with a shoulder roll. She favors her right foot to kick and always follows a left punch with a right kick. If she punches high, she kicks low and visa versa."

"Ok," I replied tersely starting our run, leaving Dimitri to hurriedly catch up and run alongside.

"Is something wrong, Roza?" he asked, wondering why I'd taken off and left him standing.

"No," I said in a tone of voice that clearly said yes.

"Roza? What is it?"

"Nothing," I replied a little more gently. How could I tell him that I'd hoped he'd reassure me that I was better than Elizaveta, and instead he'd given me a list of things that proved he'd been paying close attention to her fight style? I didn't like him observing another Novice so carefully, particularly a girl. But it sounded petty – even to _me!_

I felt a little better after our third lap around the inner perimeter of the property. While we were doing a bit of physical activity at the property, it was less than I was used to and I found myself getting angsty if I didn't work out enough. We were about to cross the driveway to the main house when we heard the garage door in the main building open.

"Don't stop and look," Dimitri ordered. "Keep running and don't turn to look at the car – our instructions were very specific."

"Got it," I said, staring straight ahead but still seeing a car emerge from the underground garage and drive down the driveway toward the gate. We kept running, coming around to the gates just in time to see them closing, the rear of the car only just discernable in the distance.

"I'd wondered if there really _were_ people here," I commented. Other than the guy Mom spoke to the first day, there'd been no sign the property was occupied by anyone else.

"We'll do another lap, then go back and report this to your Mom," Dimitri announced, picking up the pace for our final lap. We raced side-by-side, ending up panting at the back door, both feeling happier for having pushed our muscles a little – but more due to the time alone together.

We walked inside together, both stopping to gulp down tall glasses of water Artyom had thoughtfully set out on the butcher's block in the center of the kitchen.

"Guardian Hathaway still in the study?" Dimitri asked, thankfully _not_ glaring at the besotted young man.

"Yes I believe so," Artyom said, giving a hopeful smile in my direction that Dimitri missed.

"Right let's report in," Dimitri said, leading the way to the study.

"… So there we were, all of us running around chasing this pig! My mother was _furious_ we'd let it escape, and then she fell in the mud. I thought she was going to lose it, then, but instead, she ended up throwing mud at my father and me!" my mother was recounting to Elizaveta, the two sitting in the library on adjacent sofas nearly crying with laughter.

"Sorry to interrupt your amusing _family_ _stories,"_ I said, my voice arctic, "but Guardian Belikov and I have some information to report in."

My mother looked up, a brief look of chagrin passing across her features before she quickly pulled up her Guardian façade.

"Thank you Novice Vitsin," she said with a kindly smile in what was clearly a dismissal.

Elizaveta gave Mom a smile and departed, leaving an awkward silence in her wake. Dimitri stepped in, reporting what we'd witnessed – essentially a car leave the compound. My mother asked a couple of questions, then the awkward silence returned.

"I'm going to shower and start cooking dinner," Dimitri said casually, turning to leave. I tried to follow, but my mother stopped me.

"Rosemarie?" she started.

I turned to look at her.

"I was just telling Elizaveta a funny story about growing up on the farmstead," she said by way of explanation. "She and Artyom grew up on a farm as well."

I shrugged, trying to conceal my hurt.

"Tell your stories to whoever you want," I said. "It's not like they mean anything to me. I mean – until Tuesday I didn't know you grew up on a farm and I didn't realize you knew your father. In fact, I don't even know my grandparent's names," I said turning to leave. I was walking through the doorway to the entrance hall when I added in a quiet voice that I knew she'd still hear, "Maybe I should ask Elizaveta?"

I took off up the stairs to the bathroom I shared with the other women. Turning the key in the lock, I turned on the shower and let the water run, concealing any sound of my angry tears.

I couldn't believe my mother had been telling stories to someone else, yet had never bothered to share any of that information with _me._ I mean – I'd always known my mother and I were little better than strangers, but it was humiliating when we were here together, yet she still chose to share family information with others, not me.

Stepping into the shower, not for the first time I wondered about my extended family. Beyond the very basics – that Mom had grown up in Scotland and attended St. Christopher's – I knew not a thing about her family. I thought her parents were deceased, but now I thought about it maybe they weren't. I'd just assumed because she'd never mentioned them and would clam up whenever I asked.

She'd been similarly unforthcoming when I'd questioned her about my paternity. All she'd said about my father was that he was Moroi (duh!) and Turkish. I wasn't even sure how they'd met, although I seem to recall Mom had worked in Europe when she first graduated.

When I was younger I used to imagine my mother and father as victims of a tragic love story; young lovers ripped apart by circumstance, a dark haired, dark eyed baby the only remnant of their love. With the wisdom of years, I now appreciated I was probably the result of a one night stand.

I took my time in the shower, none too keen to go down and see my mother again. Washing my hair, putting in a deep conditioner before then shaving my underarms and legs, I was almost pruney by the time I stepped out and dried off. I'd been in such a hurry to get to the bathroom I hadn't brought any fresh clothes with me, and I didn't want to dress in the sweats I'd chopped wood and then exercised in.

Knowing everyone was probably downstairs getting ready for dinner, I took the chance of firmly wrapping myself in my towel, ready to make the dash down the balconied hallway to my bedroom.

I was almost at my doorway when I heard footsteps on the stairs, and turned to see Artyom near the landing, looking at me in a way that was _not_ innocent. His eyes raked from my face, down over the towel, lingering on my bare legs. Unfortunately three steps behind him on the stairs was Dimitri. Artyom's gaze was positively brotherly compared to the one Dimitri gave me – but then I suppose Dimitri knew exactly what the length of cotton toweling concealed!

"Novice Vitsin! It's expected that you avert your eyes if you come across any of the ladies of this residence in a state of undress!" Dimitri barked, following up his rebuke with what appeared to be several scathing comments in Russian.

The younger man blushed bright red, and quickly stammered an apology, dropping his eyes to the carpet.

"I'm sorry!" I gasped, "I forgot to take fresh clothes to the shower," I explained, letting myself into my room and carefully closing the door behind me. I leaned against the door and let out a little giggle. Poor Artyom! Dimitri had obviously given him a dressing down in Russian, which I couldn't help but think was a little hypocritical given Dimitri had looked as though he wanted to ravish me on the spot.

Oh if only, I thought as I pulled out fresh underwear and my last pair of clean cargos and a sweater. I'd have to do some washing tomorrow I realized with a sigh. Brushing through my wet hair, I left it out hoping it would dry before bedtime. We tended to gather as a group in the library in the evenings, so I'd sit by the fireplace to try and speed up the process.

I took the stairs two at a time, clambering into the kitchen just in time to see Elizaveta and Eddie setting out the plates. Dimitri was presiding at the range, setting the chicken onto platters for Blake and Meredith to ferry to the table. Mom and Stan were already seated, so rather than join them I filled the water jugs and brought them to the table, doubling back to fetch glasses.

Artyom came back in as I returned to the table, so we both quickly seated ourselves. I tried to give him a friendly smile to show him I wasn't angry about the towel incident, but the poor guy was looking anywhere but at me. That made things a little awkward as I was looking anywhere but at my mother.

We ate mostly in silence, breaking the quiet only to thank Dimtri, Artyom, and Eddie for the food. Mom raised a Guardian discussion with Guardian Alto, assiduously avoiding looking at either Elizaveta or me. The former was trying to catch her brother's eye, but he was likewise avoiding looking in her direction. I glanced up to see Dimitri looking self-satisfied, and made a mental note to ask him exactly what he'd said to Artyom in Russian.

Our meal over, it was Blake and Meredith's turn to do the dishes, so they got started while the rest of moved across to the library, Stan stoking the fireplace until a warm blaze was roaring in the hearth. The house didn't have a television, so we'd got into the habit of sitting in the library together of an evening – playing cards, reading or talking.

I wasn't in the mood for reading, so I pulled out my phone and texted Liss. She replied a few times but then had to stop as she and Christian were meeting Adrian for breakfast.

I sighed, thoroughly bored. My mother was still avoiding my gaze, and Dimitri was flicking his eyes between her and me, giving me looks that clearly suggested I was being childish about the situation – which of course only angered me further. So plastering a man-eater smile on my face, I plonked myself down on the hearth next to Artyom, saying loud enough I knew everyone would be able to hear me.

"So I hear you grew up on a farm. That must have been fun? Why don't you tell me all about it?"


	10. Chapter 10

I'd had an absolutely shit night's sleep. I was still fuming about things with my mother, but Dimitri's hurt, reproachful look at me when I'd said my goodnights had stuck with me. I'd been flirting with Artyom, and Dimitri knew it.

I was the last down to breakfast, only to discover someone had found my packet of Strawberry Pop-Tarts and shared them around. I came in just in time to see the last bite disappear into Blake's gob.

" _Tell me_ that was not the last Pop-Tart?" I growled genuinely disappointed; I'd been looking forward to having one.

"Shit," Eddie muttered guiltily, eyeing the empty box.

"Don't be childish, Rosemarie," my mother said. "There's strawberry jam – make yourself some toast instead. It's almost the same."

I muttered something highly colorful under my breath, ditching breakfast entirely and taking off out the back door for a run. By my fifth circuit of the property, I was feeling mildly happier. In fact, I was humming to myself quietly when I pulled up short. There a hundred yards in front of me was a young human woman about my age.

We stared, both of us a little shocked to see the other. She looked guilty like she wasn't meant to be out there. I was conscious of my mother's instructions to avoid contact with the Alchemists at all costs.

"Sorry. Excuse me," I said, dropping my eyes to the ground, turning around and running back the way I'd come.

I should report my little encounter to Mom, but I was still feeling sensitive after what happened yesterday, so in the end, I decided to leave it. Instead, I headed straight to the back of the building where Dimitri conducted his fighting intensives.

"Nice of you to join us, Novice Hathaway," Dimitri said in a frosty voice. "For future reference, training starts at 8 am."

I looked at my watch – it was 8.02.

"Yeah, sorry," I said dispiritedly. As if having my breakfast stolen was not bad enough, now I had a shitty Russian to deal with. And the worst thing is, I knew I'd brought it on myself. Had the situations been reversed – if Dimitri had flirted with another woman right in front of me – I'd be apoplectic.

Elizaveta glanced between Dimitri and me curiously. While we'd done our best to conceal the true nature of our relationship, everyone knew I was a lot more friendly to Dimitri than I was Stan or my mother. Seeing Dimitri so formal with me was uncommon enough to be noticeable.

Dimitri started us with stretches, then slow motion maneuvers. Finally, he led us across to the improvised sparring ring he'd laid out, quickly outlining the rules we each must have heard a thousand times over our years of training.

I eyed Elizaveta up carefully. She might think she was it and a bit, but there was no way I was going to let her better me without one hell of a fight. I was the one with four molnija and a zvezda, and I intended to show her exactly how I'd earned them. Carefully schooling my face into a calm, placid mask, I waited for Dimitri's word to begin.

She went straight on the offensive, as somehow I knew she would. Grossly overconfident, she overextended on a kick. I grabbed her leg, shoved her back, landing on her pelvis and fake staking her in under twenty seconds.

"Dead," I declared dispassionately.

"Not dead," she argued, claiming the angle of my thrust was wrong. As one, we turned to Dimitri.

A hard look crossed his eyes, and I knew he was still pissed with me. "Hard to tell. Try it again."

This time Elizaveta was more cautious, waiting for me to make the first move. I made a couple of trial moves to see how she'd react, before delivering a quick left, right punch combo immediately followed up by a nasty knee thrust into her hip. It was enough to unbalance her, so I followed it up by pushing her face-first into the soft grass, sitting across her hips and delivering a simulated stake thrust beneath her ribs from behind.

"Dead," I declared, giving Dimitri a hard, challenging stare.

"Dead," he agreed, his eyes softening slightly. "Again."

Having been bested twice, Elizaveta prepared to give this one her all. Her jaw was so tight; she could have been biting bullets. But if she thought I was going to give an inch, she was wrong. This time our fight lasted almost ten minutes before I managed to immobilize her arms and stake her. She let out an angry cry of rage. Three for three, now, since I was counting the first fight as a win.

"Ok, let's try one more time. Elizaveta, I want you to try and anticipate Rose's moves more. Think about her fighting style so far and see if you can pick up any patterns," my Russian God instructed.

Hmmph. I didn't like Dimitri giving Elizaveta pointers, although strangely it had never bothered me when he'd given Meredith similar instructions when sparring against me.

This time I wanted to test her endurance, so I played with her for a while. I knew Dimitri could see what I was doing – I'd intentionally missed a couple of easy openings, instead letting her wear herself out doing maneuvers I blocked. I was just about to step up the fight and put an end to it when I saw a flash of red out of the corner of my eye. My mother had come to sit on the back stairs to watch us.

One moment of distraction was all it took, Elizaveta getting me down and declaring me "Dead," in seconds.

"Great work there, Elizaveta," my mother said encouragingly. "You saw a chance and took it. Rosemarie, you need to work on your concentration - you missed a few very obvious openings."

It figures Mom wouldn't be there for the three times I took Vitsin down, just the one time I didn't.

"Are we done here?" I asked in a tight voice trying to hold back angry tears.

"Yeah. We're done," Dimitri said gently, reading my emotions like an open book. "Why don't you go upstairs and get changed? You're doing surveillance at the cabin with Alto and Castile today."

I nodded, wordlessly brushing past Mom where she sat on the back stairs, racing upstairs to get changed into hiking gear. Much as I hated Stan, right now a few hours away from Mom, Elizaveta and here sounded _wonderful!_

* * *

"It's like she goes out of her way to find ways to make me feel shit," I moaned to Eddie. We were hiking back to the car after trekking our way to the ranger's cottage and circling it several times. An unimposing timber and stone structure in the middle of a clearing, the place appeared deserted. Stan had pointed out the curtains were still wide open, and there was no vehicles present. The best indications that Strigoi were not in residence.

"You don't help things," Eddie replied, trying to be the voice of reason. "Instead of storming off, you could ask her about things when she's forthcoming," he suggested gently.

I narrowed my eyes at him dangerously.

"Or not," he mumbled, knowing when to try and keep the peace.

"I just hate how everyone else knows at least _something_ of their family. I don't even know where I was born."

"That would be on your birth certificate," Eddie said, his voice low to avoid Stan's eager ears.

"Yeah, I suppose so," I mused thoughtfully. "I've never seen it."

"You can apply for an excerpt of it from Court," Eddie suggested. "My Mom got a copy of mine sent to me when I was eighteen in case I needed it."

"Was your father listed on there?" I asked curiously. I knew Eddie's father had left his mother to marry a Moroi when he was two, but he'd grown up knowing who he was. In fact, he even had some younger Royal half-siblings at St. Vlad's – not that they acknowledged each other, although there was a good chance the Moroi kids didn't know they had a Dhampir half-brother to acknowledge.

"Yes," Eddie said with a scowl.

"I wonder whether mine would be listed?"

"Your mother has never given you any hint who he was?" Eddie queried.

"Only that he's Moroi and Turkish."

"Not a lot to go on," Eddie admitted.

"No. It isn't," I sighed, canting my head to say we should catch up with Stan before he grumbled at us for lagging again.

I was quiet in the car on the way back to the property. While I hated to admit it, maybe Eddie was right. I should take the opportunity with Mom to try and find out more about my family history. I mean – being a Guardian was a risky business. I could lose her at any time, and any chance of finding out about my heritage would pass with her.

"You're back," a warm Russian baritone acknowledged quietly as the three of us let ourselves into the house via the back door an hour or so later. It was almost dinnertime, and my stomach was grumbling. I'd skipped breakfast, so the only sustenance I'd had all day was a couple of sandwiches Stan had packed for our long hike. Elizaveta and Blake were in the kitchen helping make dinner.

"What's on the menu tonight?" I asked in an attempt at playfulness that just ended up sounding flat.

"Curried sausages," my Russian God replied. I'd never had them before, but it smelled good, so I wasn't about to complain. "Ayett, Vitsin, keep an eye on the dinner, can you? Rose? Can I speak with you for a moment?" he asked sternly.

I shrugged, following him into the disused ladies' sitting room downstairs. He closed the door, checking the curtains were drawn before pulling me to him.

"What's going on, Ангел? You haven't been yourself."

"I don't know," I mumbled against his chest, rubbing my cheek against the soft cotton of his TShirt as his fingers toyed with my hair.

I sighed before I continued. "I hate how she tells everyone things about my family but not me. She never says a word to me that isn't an order or criticism. I don't know why she wanted me here if it's only to make me feel like shit."

"Do you _really_ think she's intentionally trying to upset you?" Dimitri asked, echoing Eddie's earlier comments.

"Probably not," I admitted. "It's more like I'm so unimportant she doesn't care whether what she says or does is hurtful."

"Is that why you were leading that boy on last night?" he asked with a hard edge to his voice. I might be forgiven for being a bitch to my mother, but there was more than one reason Dimitri was pissed with me.

I was going to deny it but was silenced by one lifted eyebrow.

"I was annoyed you were on her side," I muttered in embarrassment.

"Ангел I am _always_ on your side, even when you're wrong," he soothed. "I know you wish you and your mother were closer. I don't like to see you blowing the time you have offending and slighting each other. Is that the only reason you were flirting with Artyom?"

"No," I whispered shamefaced. "I hate having to hide how I feel. I was upset I couldn't have a cuddle with you, and it was nice to be the object of someone's attention…"

"So you decided to punish me for being in a situation where I can't show the world I love you by flirting with another guy in front of me?" he asked incredulously, sounding even angrier.

"I didn't say it made sense," I defended, blushing and burying my face into his chest.

"So you still love me?" he growled, his arms nonetheless tightening around my waist. _"Just_ me?" He was teasing. Kind of.

"Yes. Do you still love me?" I asked hesitantly, bringing my eyes up to look into his.

"Of _course_ I do, Roza," he said brushing his lips against mine. "I always love you. But stop flirting with Vitsin. I _don't like it._ Only one man in this house gets to think about you in that way, and that's me!"

"What did you say to him on the stairs? In Russian? He was as red as a beetroot!"

"It doesn't have an exact translation," Dimitri said, flushing a little, himself. "But it was similar to suggesting perhaps he was the type to look through windows into women's bedrooms while they're getting changed."

"Dimitri!" I whispered in shock. No wonder the poor guy looked so embarrassed! My Russian God shrugged but had the good grace to look at least a little repentant.

We stood silently holding one another, drawing strength from one another's touch.

"That first fight today with Elizaveta was a kill," I grumbled petulantly.

"Yes it was," he soothed, giving me a final kiss before opening the door, him returning to the kitchen to finish making dinner, me to wash the sweat of a seven-mile hike off my skin.

* * *

"So there's going to be a slight change to tomorrow's roster," my mother announced at the end of dinner. "The Alchemists have detected a small group of Strigoi heading south in this general direction. There's no telling whether they will be coming to the cabin, and we will not be seeking them out. However, there's a possibility we might need to act defensively. This house is so open it's almost indefensible, so should we need to, we will be retreating to the Alchemist's building and defending that. Tomorrow I will be touring a small part of the main house with a view to formalizing a defense strategy, and Rosemarie will accompany me."

There was silence at the table before Stan retorted angrily, "Guardian protocol states the two most senior Guardians should go in situations like this."

"Thank you, Guardian Alto," my mother replied frostily, "I'm quite aware of our protocols – I'm on the working party that reviews them. The Alchemists are extremely wary of our kind - I thought taking a male in with me might intimidate them."

"Then why not take Elizaveta or Meredith?" he challenged. Nice to see Stan's love and trust of me was still going strong!

"Rosemarie is my daughter. The Alchemist role is passed down within families - I thought it might help them relate to us."

It sounded like a specious argument, but if it got me inside an Alchemist stronghold, I wasn't going to argue.

Quickly outlining the required changes to her beloved roster, Mom sent the others through to the library while we did the dishes together.

"I can't explain just how apprehensive the Alchemists are likely to be. I need you to be very professional tomorrow, Rosemarie," she warned. "No speaking unless spoken to, no sarcastic comments."

"I've got it," I said, trying not to sound irritated. I didn't want to pick a fight with Mom now, especially when she was including me in something so unprecedented.

"I thought you could perhaps wear that dress you wore the other day? And maybe your hair down? I'd like you to look as unthreatening as possible."

"Ok," I quickly agreed. I didn't know what to say, but the silence was getting uncomfortable. "So what can I expect?"

That started Mom in on an overview of what she anticipated, and what she wanted me to look out for, that lasted while we finished washing the dishes.

* * *

At 10 am on the dot, Mom and I were standing at the top of the stairs running down to the main building. She was wearing a skirt and sweater, and I was in the dress I'd worn the other day. I suspected Mom was still carrying silver, but I was unarmed. The door swung soundlessly inward and the man from the first day stepped into the doorway beckoning us forward. Mom went first, walking down the stairs slowly. We both stopped just inside the entry, the man standing a good ten feet in front of us.

"Guardian Janine Hathaway and my daughter Novice Rosemarie Hathaway," my mother said in a calm, professional voice. The man merely nodded.

"Thank you for granting us access. This should only take five minutes."

The man nodded again, gesturing for us to venture further inside. As previously directed by Mom, I followed, trying not to appear to be looking around too much. My mother was explaining the precautions she might need to take in case of an attack, and getting the information she needed.

The room we were in was huge. It looked like it took up almost the entire floor. Sheets had been placed over tables and the like so we couldn't see what was done there, but the space was much larger than it appeared on the outside.

"Those windows all have lockable metal shutters," the man said indicating the foot high windows visible from the outside. "That door goes through to the bathroom, that door to the garage, that one to the computer room." I glanced into the last room he'd indicated, seeing a solitary computer terminal in a cinderblock room, illuminated only by a couple of foot high windows near the ceiling.

"There is another stairwell to the surface there," the man said pointing to a final doorway. "In an attack, we will secure ourselves downstairs while you defend this level," the man said with clear disdain at being in our presence, gesturing to a stairwell in the corner.

After a couple more questions our 'tour' was clearly at an end, and Mom walked back across to the stairs.

"Thank you for your time and cooperation," she said formally.

"We will be in touch if we have any information," the man said before closing the solid metal door behind us. I was relieved to be out of there; the man had looked at us like we were circus freaks.

Mom gave me a look that told me to hold my tongue, and the two of us walked wordlessly back to the house we were staying in. Dimitri and Stan set the other Novices tasks while the four of us went through to the study Mom had claimed as her own.

"It would be a dream to defend," she said to the others. "The doors are solid steel, and the windows have lockable shutters. Without a blow torch they'd be hard pressed to get in, and even then reinforcements would be here before they'd manage to get through the metal."

"But what was it _like?!"_ Stan asked curiously.

"Lots of desks but they'd covered them with sheets so I couldn't see what was on them. There was a computer room with a chair, monitor and keyboard and also a bathroom but we didn't get to see that," I said.

Mom continued with her observations, and what he'd told her about the ventilation system.

"Did they say how many there are on site?" Dimitri asked curiously.

"Four," Mom supplied.

"I think it's a husband, wife and two teenaged daughters," I said out of the blue.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Mom asked in surprise.

"There was a photo not covered by the sheet on one of the tables," I explained before going through some of my other observations. Just because Mom had told me not to appear as though I were looking about didn't mean I wasn't doing so covertly.

"The weird thing was, I didn't see any hint of surveillance equipment. Given keeping records is their big thing, there was no indication of video cameras or anything like that."

"They keep records on us, not on themselves, I guess," Mom replied. "But that was a useful observation, Rosemarie." And if I hadn't known better, I might have thought that she was proud.


	11. Chapter 11

The last two and a half weeks had been hell! The Strigoi group the Alchemists had been tracking veered away from the ranger's station and our location, so we were back to training and hiking to the cabin every second day and generally just living.

I'd thought about Eddie's comments about my birth certificate, so had rung Court and arranged to get a copy. I couldn't exactly have it sent here, so after a call to Lissa, I'd arranged to have it sent to Christian and Tasha's place. Lissa had strict instructions to call me as soon as the certificate arrived, and open it while on the phone to me. When I'd explained to her I was trying to find out where I was born and maybe information about my father, she'd understood.

Before I'd made the decision to request the information, I'd made a final disastrous attempt to ask my mother about my heritage. I did manage to find out a little about my grandparents. My grandfather had passed away when Mom was in her early teens. A random Strigoi attack which had also killed his Moroi wife and my mother's Moroi half-siblings. He'd left my grandmother - his long term Dhampir mistress - the rural property where my Mom had grown up. My grandmother had followed him nearly a decade later. The victim of a freak accident, she'd died only months after I had been born.

I'd been fascinated to hear these precious snippets of information. After knowing nothing for so long, learning even the most basic of information about my forebears was exciting. I'd eagerly pressed my mother for more details – my place of birth or the name of my father – only to have her completely clam up, refusing to divulge anything further. It honestly felt like one step forward, two steps backward - which is why I decided to request information for myself.

Of course, the tension between Mom and I was far from the _only_ thing causing discord in the house. The rivalry between Elizaveta and I had grown rather than abated. While we didn't train together often, when we did it was brutal. Dimitri ended up being an adjudicator more than a trainer. She hated that almost every time I was the victor, and it also didn't help that she was fiercely protective of Artyom, and was angry that I was not returning his love interest. At best she and I ignored each other, at worst it descended into petty squabbling. And then there was Guardian Alto…

We'd been on our mission almost three weeks when an enraged Stan had come thundering into the kitchen one afternoon, interrupting Blake and I as we made a roast beef and bread and butter pudding under Dimitri's careful supervision. Almost foaming at the mouth, Alto was vociferously demanding I return his underwear.

Dimitri, knowing me as well as he did, immediately looked at me with suspicion; however, I was genuinely innocent of Stan's accusations. While it was clear someone had removed his underwear from the communal clothesline, it certainly hadn't been me.

An ugly Mexican standoff had persisted for over an hour; Stan demanding I return his briefs, me staunchly denying any knowledge of their whereabouts. It was only Mom's arrival back from the ranger's cabin with Eddie and Artyom that ended the dispute. Eddie quickly explained he'd been convinced it was going to rain, so had collected Stan's items from the clothesline when he'd fetched his own, and that Stan's underwear was folded and on the end of his bed.

Stan's apology was grudging, albeit genuine. Mom looked a little irritated he'd been so vehement in his assertions against me, when they were so patently untrue. But then, she wasn't aware of all the pranks I'd pulled on Alto over the years, so I couldn't blame him for jumping to conclusions!

I was sitting with everyone in the library that evening when the anticipated call from Lissa came. Racing upstairs to get some privacy, I threw myself down on my bed while Lissa nervously opened the envelope.

"At the top it says excerpt, then lists your Mom as your mother, place of birth just says the United States of America and the area under father is blank." I could feel Lissa's sympathy through the bond. She knew how important this was to me.

"Then I guess I'll never know," I said fatalistically.

"Could you try asking your mother again?" Lissa suggested, ever the optimist.

"I don't think so. She made it pretty clear she wasn't going to tell me anything," I said, trying unsuccessfully to stop myself from crying.

"Maybe it's not important?" Lissa suggested. "You haven't known who he was for all these years. Why do you want to know so much now?"

"I think with the Academy closing, and the prospect of leaving St. Vladimir's for good made me realize I don't have anywhere or anyone to call home."

"You have me! My home will always be your home," Lissa said generously.

"I know, but it's not the same," I said forlornly. "I want to know where _I_ come from."

We talked for a few more minutes before I dried my eyes and went back downstairs. Dimitri noticed my red-rimmed eyes, but I shook my head, indicating I didn't want to talk about it. I spent the rest of the evening sitting on the hearth assiduously avoiding Artyom's attempts to engage me in conversation, and pretending not to listen as my mother told Guardian war stories to the fascinated other Novices.

"You ok?" Eddie asked as we climbed the stairs together, the first to say our goodnights and retire to bed.

"Not really. I ordered my birth certificate and had it sent to where Lissa's staying with Christian. Lissa opened it, but it only has my Mom listed and has my place of birth as the USA. Nothing I didn't already know."

"I guess your father didn't sign your birth certificate forms, then," Eddie said sympathetically.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he'd only be listed if he'd also signed your birth certificate application. Otherwise, a mother could claim a child was anyone's. If you can get your hands on the original documents, your Mom might still have named him, though. They encourage all Dhampir mothers to list the father, even though a lot of Moroi men never sign to legitimize their offspring."

"Can I get the original at Court?" I asked. "Maybe I can send Liss to look at it?"

"No idea," Eddie said, "but it's 11 pm there now. You could ring them and ask?"

Giving him a grateful hug and a kiss I bounded off to my room to do just that.

* * *

"Stan? You know how you said the Alchemists keep records about Moroi, Dhampir, and Strigoi? What type of information do they keep?" I asked as the two of us were out the back chopping wood.

"Why the sudden curiosity?" Stan asked with suspicion. I guess he wasn't used to me asking him for information about anything Guardian related. But the guy was a walking, talking encyclopedia when it came to Guardian protocols and practices, so I was hoping he'd be clued in about the Alchemists, too.

"Just curious. After going into their building, I kinda wonder what they might _do_ in there." It was the truth - just not all of it.

"Well, we don't really know," he admitted, stopping to scratch his ankle. "The purpose of the Alchemists is to keep the Moroi world hidden from the humans, but precisely all that entails is not clear. All Guardian reports relating to Strigoi are copied to them, they're informed of all Guardian allocations, many original Royal documents are provided to them, plus they get a copy of all Dhampir and Moroi birth, death, and marriage registrations. Many believe they keep detailed files on every Moroi, Dhampir, and Strigoi, but of course, we can't know for sure. What is known is they have vast digital databases where information about us and our world are held."

Quickly changing the topic now I had the information I required, I steered the conversation in another direction.

"So how come they have a property like this here in the middle of nowhere? It's hardly a thriving hotbed of Strigoi activity. There's nothing for miles in any direction."

"The Alchemists have always been reclusive, and prefer to stay as far away from our world as possible. The role is passed down through families, so if I had to guess, I'd say this was probably an Alchemist family home at one time, but as technology changed so have their needs, hence the new building."

It made sense. Why else would anyone have such an old, ornate house up here, fully furnished and maintained, yet not used?

"Why do they hate us? I mean, surely they can tell we're not like Strigoi?"

"They see all non-humans as evil aberrations. While there is a degree of cooperation with Moroi and Dhampir, and they help us conceal the existence of Strigoi from the humans, at the heart of things they see us all as amoral creatures who don't deserve to exist."

I shivered slightly. It explained the tension and undercurrent of fear from the girl and then the man when I'd seen them. They literally thought me, and my kind were the product of the devil.

* * *

"… this sort of move is particularly useful against opponents who use their arms offensively more than they do their legs; and in my experience, men tend to use their legs less against women," my mother said to Meredith and Elizaveta, demonstrating a fighting move. "Alternatively it's useful on a tall opponent, and being female many of those you fight will be taller than you…"

It was Friday, and Mom had given us all an afternoon off on the roster. Stan, Dimitri, Eddie, Artyom, and Blake had decided to play poker in the library, but I wasn't in the mood, so I'd gone looking for the girls to see if they wanted to do something. Not finding them, I decided to do my washing. I was downstairs loading the machine when I'd located Mom with Meredith and Elizaveta on the back lawn – Mom giving them a master class.

I opened the back door quietly, standing inside listening to Mom give them more tips and tricks. Elizaveta was thanking Mom for all the pointers.

"Rose is so lucky! I wish my Mom knew about combat. Thanks for teaching us, Janine!"

Not only was my Mom giving the Russian bitch pointers, they were apparently not on first name basis, too!

"That's alright. Women are already at a disadvantage when it comes to fighting – I'm happy to do anything I can to help you girls even up your chances," my Mom said with a grin.

I stepped out into the backyard.

"Nice to see you running a girls' class without me. Should I take from that you don't consider me female, or just that I'm not worth teaching?!" I asked sarcastically.

My mother looked up at me with an exasperated look.

"For goodness sake, Rosemarie! Elizaveta asked for some pointers, and I suggested Meredith join in. No one was purposely excluding you. Sometimes it isn't about you!"

I can't believe she tried to put this back on _me!_ It's like no matter what I did, no matter what I overlooked or forgave her for, she'd just find new ways to show me how unimportant I was. And with that, I let go of all the resentment I'd been holding in.

"Oh, but it's _never_ about me, is it? It wasn't about me when you forgot my birthday. Do you know how fucked up it feels to spend the day with your mother, and her not once remember it's the day you were born! I mean hell – it's not like we share much, but I kind of thought it might be something that would stick in your mind!"

"That's totally unreasonable, Rosemarie. I explained that with the attack and this mission I just forgot!"

"Yeah? And what about the other years? I've not once had a card, visit or even a phone call. Did it _slip your mind_ every other year, too?! And Christmas? I would have thought the big turkey dinner might have given that one away? And what's with you happily sharing stories about your family with strangers – stories about people you refuse to even _tell me_ about? And it wasn't about me when you dumped me at an Academy at four years old, not ever looking back! You got pissed when I called myself an orphan. You said I wasn't one, and you're right. At least an orphan at some point in time had a parent who loved and cared about them!"

I was roaring by now, and I could feel rather than hear the guys come out of the library and through the kitchen into the mudroom to ascertain what was going on.

"You're blowing this completely out of proportion," my mother blustered, her face getting as red as her hair. "I should have known you couldn't be trusted to be professional on a mission like this!"

I spun away, my eyes wet with tears to see Dimitri and the other guys standing behind me. More than _anything_ I wanted to throw myself into Dimitri's strong, loving arms, but I couldn't. And so I did the next best thing – I threw myself into Eddie's.

Despite being startled, Eddie wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight as I sobbed against his chest - all the years of pain, loneliness, and rejection coming to the fore in an overwhelming tidal wave of emotions.

I could hear my mother approaching behind me, naming and listing all my many flaws, yet somehow my defense came from an unexpected source.

"Janine, just leave it," Stan suggested calmly. "This doesn't help anyone."

"Oh suddenly an expert on parenting, too, are we?" she snarled at him.

"No, but it doesn't take an expert to see how she might be upset about you sharing family stories and training with other young Novices when you've done neither with her," Stan pointed out.

"You can stay out of this! This has _nothing_ to do with you!" she snapped at him.

"Actually, this _does_ have to do with me. I came to the academy the same year Rose did. You weren't there to see it, but I saw first hand the damage that occurs when you dump a four-year-old to be brought up by strangers! She cried for you for _months_ , Janine. It took her a year to learn to smile again. Then every birthday, every Christmas it was the same. She'd wait hoping for a call or a visit that never came. And the pathetic thing was, every year she'd make some elaborate excuse for why you were too busy to remember her. Until eventually, she just stopped talking about you altogether. Yes, I'm not her parent. Hell – Rose and I don't even get along ninety percent of the time – but right now she has a right to be hurt and angry!"

* * *

I was lying on my bed an hour later when there was a knock. I didn't respond - I was too drained to speak with anyone. The door opened, but I kept my eyes closed, and pretended to be asleep. The mattress dipped beside me as someone sat on the edge of the bed.

As soon as I felt a large hand smooth my hair, I knew who it was.

"Roza? Your Mom's calmed down. Now she's had a chance to think about it, she can see how today might have looked to you. She thinks we could all use a day or two apart to cool down. Tomorrow morning when she goes to do the shopping in Sheridan, she thought she might take Elizaveta, Stan, Artyom and Blake with her and they'll all stay the night."

"So they get a couple of days out of this shithole, while we get to rot here? _Nice…"_ I growled.

"Well the idea was the rest of us could take our turn for a weekend in town in a week or two," he explained, taking advantage of me moving over to lie behind me on the mattress, draping his arm around my waist. It was the first decent physical contact we'd had in a week, and I couldn't help but snuggle back against him.

"Why can't she just tell me about my heritage? She'll tell strangers, but she can't tell me! It's like she feels I don't deserve to hear it. Like they're _her_ family but not mine. I've grown up with no one, Dimitri! Surely it wouldn't hurt to share a few stories with me?"

"I don't know. Now she's calmed down, she's disappointed in herself about the things she said," Dimitri consoled.

"More like she's disappointed someone saw her lose her cool and heard what a shithouse mother she's been," I snapped. "I can't believe her solution is to take the girl she's favoring away for a couple of days!"

"Um – that's probably my fault," Dimitri murmured. "I know Elizaveta rubs you up the wrong way so I suggested Janine take her. I thought if it was just Eddie, Meredith and me here for a few days you might feel better?"

I thought about it. It hurt Mom would prefer to go away with some Russian Novice rather than me, but right now Elizaveta was welcome to her.

"You're probably right," I sighed. I turned on the bed, so I was cuddled in against his chest.

"Tomorrow we can do whatever you want," he purred in my ear.

" _Anything_ Comrade?!"

"You know what I mean, Roza," he said in exasperation.

I frowned. Ok – so sex was apparently still off the menu.

"Maybe we could train together? Just you and me?" I asked hopefully. If I couldn't get hot and sweaty with him between the sheets, I'd take the next best thing.

"You've got it," he promised, kissing my hair softly.

We lay cuddling in silence for a few more minutes.

"I'd better go, Ангел," he said with a discontented sigh. These brief moments were not enough for either of us. "Sleep well, Roza. Tomorrow will be a better day."

I rolled into the spot Dimitri had just vacated, savoring the warmth of the quilt where he'd laid. Before long I was asleep, having tortured dreams filled with whispered desires, unfamiliar longings and deep, soulful chocolate brown eyes and rough, calloused fingers.


	12. Chapter 12

"Wake up, Rose. Time to train. See you downstairs in five."

It was Dimitri talking to me through my bedroom door. Not _quite_ how I'd like him to wake me, but it was still nice to have his as the first voice I heard in the morning.

I moved to the bathroom, cleaned myself up a little, put on my nicest sweats and wandered downstairs. Walking into the kitchen, I saw everyone already gathered at the table eating. Ignoring everyone, but particularly my mother, I grabbed a piece of toast from the central platter and moved into the mudroom, holding the toast in my mouth as I quickly put my shoes and socks on. Scarfing the toast, I walked back into the kitchen and grabbed another piece, chewing it while I waited for Dimitri.

"You ready, Rose?" Dimitri asked, throwing down the last of his coffee.

"Ready when you are, Comrade."

"Are you training? We're not leaving until nine – can I join you?" It was Elizaveta. That chick just didn't know when she wasn't wanted.

"Perhaps Ayett could join you, too?" Stan suggested.

"Sorry, no. Rose and I are doing advanced training today." It was a veiled insult, but Dimitri delivered it so pleasantly, no one balked at the implication hidden within his words. "Let's start with a ten-mile run," he continued as we walked outside together.

We stretched for a few moments, me thanking him under my breath. And then we were off. It was a glorious morning. Cool enough that running was a pleasant way to warm ourselves. Usually, we ran the perimeter of the facility, but today my Russian God led me along the driveway, and we used the small pedestrian gate to exit the property, running along the roadway.

"You don't like her, do you?" Dimitri chuckled, meaning Elizaveta.

"Nope," I agreed, popping the p.

"Why?" he asked, looking at me sidewise as we ran abreast.

"Well first off, I didn't like how she just assumed she'd be a better fighter than me. Then I didn't like how Mom shares things with her that she won't tell me. Now just looking at her pisses me off."

Dimitri laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling adorably.

"There must be someone you feel like that about?" I snapped defensively, feeling a little silly now I'd admitted my feelings.

A thoughtful look crossed his face.

"Yes. A guy called Nikita Makar."

"And…?"

"He annoyed me," Dimitri grumbled. "We were in the same year but different houses at St. Basil's. He was a good student, but very competitive. And arrogant. At St. Basil's, as well as our trials, final year grading is done on an elimination basis by house. Nikita was the top combatant in his house, as I was mine. All the way through our final year, Nikita taunted me that he was the superior fighter. It irritated me."

"So what happened?" I asked.

"I took him out in the final fight, and he's never forgotten it," Dimitri said with a satisfied smile.

I laughed, noticing Dimitri's grin. My Russian God was one of the least egotistical people I knew, but I guess even _he_ had limits!

We ran for an hour before turning around and walking back toward the facility. It was five past nine when one of the Academy SUVs approached along the driveway. Dimitri and I moved to one side, Dimitri raising a hand in friendly greeting to my mother who drove and Stan who was installed in the passenger seat.

"There you go – they're gone," Dimitri said consolingly once they'd passed us and the vehicle could no longer be heard.

"Hope they have a great time," I muttered sarcastically.

"I doubt it," Dimitri chuckled. "Your mother is still upset with Stan about his comments, but is pretending she isn't. Stan is worried your mother will give him an unfavorable report, so he's taking it out on Ayett. Artyom didn't want two days and a night away from you, so is blaming his sister for asking your Mom for tips in the first place."

"Knowing that makes me feel better," I said with a little smirk. "So now they're gone, does that mean I can have a kiss?" I asked boldly.

He looked about us. We were surrounded by trees in every direction. "I think that would be alright," he laughed, pulling me against him eagerly.

The two of us stood wrapped around each other, lips joined tenderly.

Holding hands, we continued walking slowly back to the property. We could have run it, but now was more about spending time and less about actual training. We were probably a mile from the perimeter fence when we heard the sound of a car approaching.

Dimitri tensed, dropping my hand as we moved to the road shoulder. Unless Eddie or Meredith had disobeyed orders and decided to take the other car for a spin, it had to be the Alchemists leaving the property for some reason. They did it every now and again, usually leaving for four or five hours before reappearing. Other than my impromptu encounter with the young woman, and our visit to their building, it was the only sign of the Alchemists I'd seen.

"Just keep walking," Dimitri directed as their car approached. They were driving down the center of the road, but when they spotted us, the car moved to the other side, giving us a clear berth.

"Come on – let's run the rest of the way," Dimitri suggested once they'd passed.

We were panting by the time we returned to the property. Chugging down water in the kitchen, we went outside to spar for a little while. Dimitri pinned me first, then I him, but he won the final round.

"What do you want for lunch today, Roza?" Dimitri asked happily.

"Can you make me those cottage cheese pancakes?" I asked hopefully. Pretty much everything my Russian God cooked was mouth watering, but those were my favorite.

"Syrniki? Sure," he said with an indulgent smile.

"I think I might go upstairs and read a book for a while," I said, my eyes not meeting his. "Maybe have a little sleep."

If Dimitri had his wits about him, that would have been his first clue I was up to something. I never willingly read anything!

"Ok," he said, looking around to check we were unobserved before quickly dropping a kiss onto my forehead.

Upstairs I branched off, taking the stairs to the guys' wing rather than my own. Stopping in front of the room Eddie shared with Blake, I knocked softly.

Eddie answered looking surprised.

"Rose, what's up?"

"Not much. Saw the Alchemists leaving as we were running…"

Eddie was more switched on than Dimitri.

"And?"

"I thought I might go suss out their building a little while I know they're not there."

"Do you think that's wise?" Eddie asked, giving me a level stare.

"I'll be quick. I'm just curious about their security doors," I lied. Eddie lifted an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

"Just keep Dimitri occupied, ok? And if I'm not back by 11.30, come looking."

"Why wouldn't you be back?" he pressed, becoming more alarmed by the moment.

I shrugged and gave him a mysterious smile, backing out of his room and slipping back down the hallway and across the landing to my own. Locking my door from the inside, I pocketed the key and opened the window, checking the drop below. It was high, but not too bad. I was lucky my room was in the back most left corner of the house - directly above the unused ladies' sitting room. I slipped out the window, toes resting on the upper frame of the windows below. Carefully scuttling across a couple of feet, I grabbed a metal downpipe, climbing down the side of the building.

I was out, with no one any the wiser! I took off diagonally into the cover of the trees. I didn't want Dimitri or Meredith to spot me fleeing the building.

Once I was hidden amongst the foliage, I stopped to think. Just because we'd seen a car leave, didn't mean all the Alchemists were gone. Which is how I found myself beside the building on my stomach, peering through the foot high windows into the space I'd visited a week or so before. I inched along, carefully looking through each dirty pane. I'd started at the end where I knew the computer room was, ascertaining it was empty before carefully moving along and looking into the windows that opened into the large open room. It looked precisely as I remembered it, although this time there were no sheets over the tables. Instead, they were piled with hundreds of files. Taking my time, I made certain that there was no one in that room, either, before inching my way down to the windows at the other end. These were frosted, and I wrinkled my brow in confusion until I recalled the man saying the bathroom was down this end of the building.

There was the tiniest sliver where the window did not meet the frame, so I pressed my eye up against it – but all I could see was the part of the toilet where it met the floor. However, the lack of anyone's feet was encouraging. If there was somebody in the bathroom, they weren't making any noise, and they weren't seated at the toilet!

I tried to get my fingers between the window and the frame, but space was too tight. I needed something thin but strong. I was looking around for inspiration when I spotted a strip of metal that had come loose from the window trim. Threading it between the window and the frame, I pushed slightly and was staggered when the window opened an inch. Grabbing the frame, I pulled a little - easily lifting the window up. It was hinged at the top, so it was simple enough to lift it entirely to check the bathroom. As I'd anticipated, it was unoccupied.

I lay on the ground thinking about this latest development. While the purpose of my visit had been to see if there was any way of sneaking into the Alchemist's building, I hadn't expected to achieve my goal. But the window was open, the Alchemists were out, and most of those I lived with were in town or otherwise occupied. I wasn't going to get a better chance than this. So with the hope I wasn't going to regret it, I slid feet-first through the window, grasping the inner window frame before soundlessly dropping to my feet on the bathroom floor.

I looked at my phone. 11.10. I'd foolishly told Eddie to come looking if I wasn't back by 11.30, so if I wanted to do this, I'd have to be fast. Padding as softly as possible, I made my way through the main room toward my goal - the computer room I'd seen previously. Knowing my luck, it would be passworded – but I was hoping their remoteness might have made the Alchemists as complacent with their digital security as they were with their physical lockup.

I slipped into the room, closing the door all but an inch. If someone _was_ here in the building, I didn't need to advertise my presence. Wiggling the mouse on the table, the monitor immediately illuminated. Well. That solved _one_ problem!

A browser window appeared, looking as though it were attached to an intranet. Staring at the various options listed, not a lot of it seemed applicable, so I thought I'd try the most obvious first. The 'search' box. I carefully typed in 'Rosemarie Hathaway' and pressed the enter key. A spinning icon immediately appeared, indicating a search was being executed. It seemed like hours, but a minute or so later a list of search results appeared – the first of which was my name followed by my birth date.

It looked like Stan was right – they _did_ keep data on each of us!

I clicked the link, wondering what to expect. The icon was back on the screen again before the screen refreshed. When it did, there was a page with my most recent St. Vladimir's ID photo, my location (listed as 'The Auman Residence, Wyoming' – I guess that's what these dudes were called), my cell number and then a long list of links. Reading through them, I could see they were links to reports, files, and documents. Clicking on the first, it was Mom's recent report from the property. I was listed as one of the Novices on site, hence the link to my page.

Returning to the previous screen, the link counter suggested there were over eight hundred entries associated with me. Hell – the amount of data these guys must have was _mind-boggling!_

Since the links seemed to be reverse chronological, an application to register my birth would likely be near the beginning. I scrolled to the bottom of the list where, sure enough, there was a link titled 'Registration of Birth.'

It all seemed too easy. I clicked in any case, pulling up a scanned copy of a document. Even at first glance, I recognized my mother's small, neat writing. This was no sanitized computer generated birth certificate! This was a copy of the original registration of my birth. If what I wanted was documented anywhere, it would be here.

Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I snapped pictures of the screen, scrolling through to where a heading annotated 'Father's Details.' And my heart stopped. It actually stopped in my chest for a moment. Because there, neatly documented with twelve letters and a space, was a name. Ibrahim Mazur.

I took more photos of the screen with my phone, exiting back out to the main screen. My fingers were actually shaking as I typed 'Ibrahim Mazur' into the search box. A list of names came up, his the first. I clicked again to access his file. If the search icon had whirled for what seemed like a year with my search, it was a millennium for Ibrahim Mazur's. But eventually the screen refreshed, and there he was. The man my mother claimed was my father.

It was a small photo, but there was no doubt in my mind we were related. My hair was all his, and staring at the color pixels that made up his likeness, I could see a reflection of my own features in his. Truth be told, I looked a lot more like Ibrahim Mazur than I did Janine Hathaway! I snapped a picture of the screen, noting with interest there were several addresses listed under 'place of residence,' and that there were also over fifteen thousand links associated with this man. I had no idea whether this was an inordinately large number of records; somehow it seemed like it might be. I was about to start scrolling to get some clues about how Mr. Mazur fit into the Moroi world when my heart stopped for the second time. Out in the main room, I heard a mobile phone ring. And then I heard it answered.

"I'm feeling heaps better, thanks," a disembodied female voice said. "Tell Mom not to worry."

There was a pause before the voice continued.

"I'm upstairs grabbing a file, and then I'm going back to bed, I promise! Don't forget to pick me up some chocolate!"

I quickly exited out of the computer system, turning off the screen. Standing in the darkened room, I peered through the crack in the door. I couldn't see anyone in the main room, but the voice had sounded close.

Unbidden, echoes of my mother sounded in my head – telling me how important this mission was, and how professional we needed to be. All of a sudden, breaking into a secure Alchemist facility to find out about my father didn't seem like such a crash hot idea!

I waited for five minutes, not trusting myself to judge the time accurately, so checking on my phone the whole time. Deciding it was high time to get going, I took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. Finding the upper floor deserted, my relief was monumental!

I walked to the closest door, reaching out for the handle only to pull back in horror. It was a key operated dead bolt, and the red on the indicator panel suggested it was locked. I tried anyway, but as I suspected, there was no getting out through this door without a key. Trying to suppress my rising panic, I walked silently across to the other external door only to find it similarly armed. That left three doors; the one to the bathroom, the one to the computer room and the one that presumably led to the garage.

Checking the final one it, too, was deadlocked. I was shaking as I realized I was trapped.

Knowing I needed to refocus and regroup, I moved into the bathroom, carefully shutting the door almost completely behind me. There was just a toilet and basin in this room, so there must be another full bathroom elsewhere. That being the case, I was hopeful anyone left here wouldn't come upstairs to use this one.

I looked up at the window I'd come through. Situated directly under the ceiling it was high - but if I stood on the basin, I might be able to get up there. I already knew the window opened outward, but taking a closer look, I could see there were heavy metal shutters that opened inward. Also hinged at the top, these were sitting flush against the ceiling. I couldn't tell how they were held in place, but they looked fairly secure.

Recognizing the windows as my only chance, I took off my shoes, tieing the laces together and hanging them around my neck. The soles of my shoes would no doubt leave marks on the basin or the wall, and I couldn't afford for anyone to know I'd been inside.

I tried to work out how to do this. The unlocked window was on the left, whereas the basin was beneath the window on the right. By far the easiest would be if I could unlock the right-hand window. Carefully climbing onto the porcelain washbasin in my bare feet, I fiddled with the lock to no avail.

Ok. Plan B, then. My second plan was to lean as far as I could to the left, grabbing the window sill of the unlocked window and then hoisting myself up and through the opening. It would be quite a reach, but I hadn't done years of chin-ups for no reason! With a bit of luck, I should be able to manage it.

Balanced precariously on the basin, I reached carefully to the left, my fingertips just finding purchase on the metal sill. I pulled and swung as much as I could, lifting myself up and pushing the window open with my head. I'd just managed to get my shoulders through the opening when disaster struck. My shoes had somehow shifted around to my back and bumped the heavy metal security shutter propped open against the ceiling. With an almost bone-splitting thump, it fell downward. It would have completely secured the window, had I not been in the way.

While the shutter made no noise as it fell, it winded me badly, and it was all I could do not to cry out in surprise and pain.

I was part inside, part hanging out the window. My head, arms, and shoulders were out, but I was supporting all my body weight with my arms – gripping the window ledge for dear life. For a moment I rested my head on the ground outside, drawing shaky breaths in and out as I tried to regroup. Panic was not my friend, here. After a moment, I tried to pull myself forward, but the pressure from the metal shutter made it impossible. I tried to reach a hand behind me but quickly appreciated that I'd be unable to lift the shutter. It was just too heavy, and if I tried I'd likely slip back inside, and my one chance of escape would be lost.

I was starting to freak out when I saw the most welcome sight I'd ever seen; Eddie approaching cautiously through the trees.

"Eddie," I whisper hissed. "Help me!"

It was a moment before his eyes fell upon me, but he was at my side in an instant. Sizing up the situation, he sat beside me, holding the window open and pushing the shutter with his feet, but as soon as he did so, I started to slip backward. I'd been holding on for so long the strength in my arms was all but gone - the pressure of the shutter on my back all that was holding me in place.

"We're going to need another person," Eddie said.

"Then go! Quickly! There's someone home here," I whimpered pathetically.

Eddie's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, and with a single brief nod he took off at speed toward our house. My arms were shaking, and I seriously thought I was going to have to let go when I saw Eddie returning. But my heart sank when I saw who he had with him. He hadn't fetched Meredith to help. No. In his haste to assist me, Eddie had brought _Dimitri!_


	13. Chapter 13

Dimitri's eyes were terrifying as he quickly sized up the situation. While he said nothing, his fury was evident. Gesturing for Eddie to again sit and push the shutter up with his feet, my Russian God grabbed my arms and yanked me through the window opening. Immediately discarding me like a sack of moldy potatoes on the dirt behind him, he lay down on his stomach, looking at the metal shutter Eddie had propped open with his feet.

Dimitri was studying the mechanism on the still in place right-hand shutter before he reached in and pushed the left-hand shutter upward, back toward the ceiling. There was the softest of clicks, and the metal shutter was back resting alongside the adjacent screen, with no clue it had been dislodged.

Looking at the pane of glass, there was an obvious smear where I'd used my head to push it open when I'd attempted my escape. Grabbing a handful of dirt, Dimitri lightly rubbed it across the inside of the windowpane, in a bid to make it dirty again. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than an obvious dust-free stripe thanks to my hair. With a final look inside the bathroom, he carefully lowered the window frame and jerked his head toward the house in a wordless gesture for us to get moving.

The whole time we were walking, he said nothing. I sneaked a timid look as we approached the back door, but immediately wished I hadn't. Dimitri was absolutely _seething._ While he had a better handle on his temper than Alto or my mother, I had no doubt the fallout from this was going to be monumental.

Following my enraged Russian God into the house and through to the library, Eddie and I knew we were about to cop it.

"Eddie didn't know," I offered before Dimitri had a chance to say anything. "I told him to meet me outside to train at 11.30. He was looking for me when he found me stuck."

It wasn't fair to drag Eddie into this. He hadn't done anything wrong, and there was a good chance I'd be expelled or possibly even charged, I now appreciated.

"Really?" Dimitri gave me a careful look before turning his eyes upon Eddie.

"Yes Guardian Belikov," Eddie muttered staring at the ground. I knew it absolutely killed him not to admit he'd known I was up to something, but I'm glad self-preservation had won out. He wouldn't have been able to stop me, so it wasn't fair he be punished for my recklessness.

"Go upstairs to your room. We'll talk later," Dimitri ordered him through gritted teeth.

The two of us stood in silence as Eddie departed. I didn't dare say anything more than I already had. When Dimitri finally spoke, it wasn't with a roar like I'd expected. It was almost a whisper. But if anything, that was worse.

"Do you have any idea of the damage you've probably caused?! Her Majesty is invested in this mission. She gave her word to the Alchemists that we would not intrude on them in any way. So what do you do?! You _break into their building!"_

I couldn't bring myself to look into his eyes. I knew the disappointment I would see there. Instead, I stared at his hands – seeing them shake as he tried to control his temper.

" _Fuck,_ Rose. You might have jeopardized this entire operation. If they discover you broke in, your Guardian career is _over_. And it won't just be you who'll go down. Your Mom? Alto? Me? As the Guardians in charge here, we'll all be held accountable. What the _hell_ did you think you were doing?! Did you just wake up this morning and think 'hey – I'm going to break into an Alchemist facility?'"

I didn't say anything, instead moving my eyes to regard Dimitri's polished size thirteen combat boots.

"I asked you a question, Rose!" Dimitri bellowed, demanding an answer. It was the first time he'd raised his voice to me with that degree of anger.

"I just wanted to see what it was like inside," I lied pathetically.

"What? Once wasn't enough?! I thought you were smarter than this! How could you do something so stupid, Rose? So irresponsible?! You get upset when your mother treats you like a child, but then you go and act like one! Maybe she's right about you? Maybe you're _not_ mature enough to be trusted on a mission like this! You tell me you're ready to take your place in our world. To give everything to guard Vasilisa, and then you pull a stunt like this. Do you think they'll let you be her Guardian if this gets out? Do you think they'll let you be a Guardian _at all?_ I've told you before – there _are_ no second chances. As a Guardian, your reputation is everything."

My eyes flicked to his, tears streaming down my face. I'd stuffed up. I knew it. Like so many things in my life, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. I looked into my lover's deep brown eyes, and all I could see was anger and contempt.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Sorry? _Sorry?_ Rose this isn't being late to a training session. You've put _everyone_ here in danger. What about Eddie? Meredith? I thought they were your friends? But you're happy to ruin their careers alongside your own! You heard your mother. We're here as representatives of our world. Failure is not an option! What do you think would have happened if you'd been caught?"

"I didn't mean… I mean, I didn't think…"

"Didn't think? _No shit!_ This isn't a game, Rose. You don't get to wander around wreaking havoc and then hope for the best. What you do affects other people. It affects _me._ I've invested a lot of my time in you. How do you expect me to trust you after this?" He paused and looked at me for a moment before he continued, his voice barely a whisper. "How do you expect me to _love_ you? We're meant to be partners, Rose. You're supposed to be the one I can trust above all others. You're meant to have my back, not sneak around causing mayhem and putting us all at risk. I thought you were better than this. Clearly, I was wrong."

I flinched beneath his furious words - a relentless series of tiny daggers embedding themselves in my heart. I chanced another look at him, and there was no softness or love in his eyes. The anger had gone, too. In fact, all that I could see was his disgust and regret, both of which were directed at me.

"I _am_ sorry, Dimitri," I said, reaching out to try and touch him.

He recoiled and stepped back, pulling himself out of my reach.

"Get out of my sight, Novice Hathaway. I don't even want to _see_ you right now," he said coldly.

I shivered, but nodded, leaving the library and walking upstairs to my room. Unlocking the door, I didn't know whether to start packing my things or just lie there. In the end, I decided I wasn't up to doing anything, so I closed the curtains and changed into pajamas before throwing myself onto the bed, covering myself with the blankets and weeping.

* * *

I'd been crying for hours when there was a tentative knock at the door. I didn't answer, but a moment later I heard the door open.

"Rose? You didn't come down for lunch or dinner. You must be hungry?"

It was Meredith, and by the smell of it, she had food with her. I opened my mouth to thank her, but I was unable to get anything out. My voice was too hoarse from all the crying. I tried again.

"Where is everyone?" I managed to croak out, not opening my eyes.

"Eddie is in his room. Guardian Belikov is in the library. I saved you some dinner," she said. I heard her move some things from my bedside and put something down before switching on the bedside lamp.

I rolled over on my bed and opened my eyes. There was a tray with a bowl of stew, a plate with thick sliced bread with butter, and a large glass of juice. I grabbed the latter and chugged it down eagerly, the tartness of the orange juice stinging my dry, sore throat.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Meredith asked, giving me a sympathetic look.

 _Vlad_ knows what she knew of what had happened. And even if she had heard what had transpired, I didn't know myself what the full fallout was going to be. I'd never seen Dimitri look at me with such contempt. Usually, even when he was exasperated or annoyed with me, I could see affection lurking in the back of his eyes. But something about the way he'd looked at me in the library had seemed so… final.

"No," I muttered, sitting up in bed and trying not to look at Meredith with my swollen, puffy eyes.

"Eat and try to sleep," she said kindly. "My Mom says everything looks better after a good night's rest."

I nodded robotically, attempting a smile that I suspect ended up looking more like a grimace. With a final supportive squeeze of my hand, Meredith took her leave, closing my door behind her.

I sat the tray on my lap, looking at the large bowl of stew. I wasn't even remotely hungry, but I hoped a full belly would help me fall asleep, so I lifted the first spoonful to my lips. It was still warm, but not hot. However it tasted great, and after the first couple of mouthfuls, I found getting it down no struggle.

Alternating between spoonfuls of stew and bites of homemade bread, I started to let my mind drift to the future. When Dimitri told my mother, my time here would undoubtedly be over. Mom was unforgiving about even the smallest dereliction of Guardian duty. If she knew I'd broken into the Alchemist's residence, she'd kick me off this mission without any hesitation. Hell, she'd probably draft the documents herself to have me charged with treason!

While I knew that should be the biggest of my worries, my mind kept coming back to Dimitri. I didn't think that there would be any coming back from this. I kept running over what he'd said in my mind. He hadn't _stated_ that he was breaking up with me, but it sure had sounded that way. He'd asked how could I expect him to love me, and that was basically the same thing.

Suddenly unable to eat, I put the almost empty bowl and plate back onto the tray and placed the whole thing back onto my bedside. Even though the room was relatively warm, I couldn't help the shiver that ran through me. Switching off the light, I lay back down in bed, closing my eyes and trying to think of anything other than the inescapable conclusion that not only was my Guardian career over, my relationship with Dimitri was, too. With one stupid, reckless, ill-conceived action I had cost myself the two things that mattered to me most – my ability to protect Lissa, and the love of my Russian God.

Desperate to escape my thoughts for a while, I slipped into Lissa's head. It was 10 pm Saturday where she was. I found her sitting at the breakfast table in the Ozera house, sipping coffee with Christian and Tasha. Ugh. Like my day wasn't bad enough, I had to see scarface! The three of them were chatting, talking about nothing consequential when Tasha's phone rang. Lissa's eyes dropped to the phone where it was sitting on the table, to see 'Dimka' flash up on the screen.

There was no misunderstanding the excited smile that decorated Tasha's actually rather pretty face as she picked up the phone.

"Dimka" she cooed happily. She listened for a moment before replying.

"Don't be silly. I didn't expect you to call – I know it must be busy where you are! But it's nice to know you're thinking about me." Yes, she was flirting, and laying it on thick. "You sound flat. What's up?"

She listened again, making the occasional supportive noise before an excited smile spread across her countenance.

"It's ok, you don't have to go into specifics," she grinned triumphantly. "Sometimes it's not about logic, Dimka. If your heart is telling you something, you need to listen to it."

Tasha had a very tender expression on her face as she listened to whatever Dimitri was saying again. I couldn't bear to hear any more. It had been bad enough wondering if Dimitri didn't love me anymore. Hearing him ring Tasha to discuss moving on nearly broke me. I wrenched myself from Lissa's head, tears starting anew. And for another hour I lay there dreading what tomorrow would bring.

My crying had all but burnt itself when I heard the others saying their goodnights and climbing the stairs to bed. I saw the thin band of light from under the door extinguish as someone turned off the stairway light. Probably Dimitri. He was usually the last one to bed.

Lying in my bed, I couldn't get warm. I knew it wasn't the temperature. I was literally filled with dread. I lay there for an hour, and then another _\- begging_ sleep to take me. But, of course, as so often happens the more I hoped for the oblivion of repose the more elusive it proved to be. I was still tossing and turning when I appreciated that as soon as my Mom got back tomorrow, I'd probably be shipped off to wherever it was she was going to banish me. There'd be no chance to talk to Dimitri – and more than anything I wanted to tell him I really _was_ sorry. That I loved him, and to thank him for believing in me when no one else did. And rightly so, as it turned out.

Slipping out of my bed before I had a chance to reconsider I silently opened my door, checking the deserted corridor before padding down the stairs, onto the landing and then back up the stairs to the guys' side of the house.

The first door I came to was Dimitri's. I wasn't sure if he slept with his door locked, but I guess I was about to find out. I turned the handle, opening the door quietly and slipping into his room. It was brighter than I expected, but only because of a nearly full moon and the fact his blinds were open. In the moonlight, I could see him lying on his side on the single bed. It couldn't be comfortable for a man his size to be sleeping in such a small space, but his eyes were closed, and he appeared to be asleep.

I stood and stared at him for a minute; admiring the long dark lashes that graced his cheeks, the muscled forearm resting on top of the dark quilt. The quilt was the one from his dorm room, I noticed absently. The same one he'd cuddled me beneath when we'd watched DVDs.

I crept across to the bed, reaching out to touch him. I rested my hand on his shoulder and the tension I felt there confirmed what I'd been beginning to suspect. He wasn't asleep.

Stroking his shoulder, I waited to give him a chance to say anything he might want to. But as the silence stretched between us, I decided to say my piece and leave.

"I'm sorry, Comrade. I know I fucked up and there's no coming back from this. I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. I love you, and no matter what happens after this, that's never going to change."

I gave his shoulder a final loving squeeze, before I lifted my hand from him, starting to spin toward the door, barely able to see the doorframe thanks to the tears trickling down my face.

Quicker than lightning his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I turned back to him and waited. There was nothing for a moment, and then he moved back slightly on the bed, dropping my wrist to lift up the bedcovers. He didn't open his eyes to look at me, but the invitation was clear enough. He was inviting me to lie in bed with him.

I didn't wait to be asked twice. I slipped into bed next to my love, whimpering as he positioned one arm for me to use as a pillow, the other covering me with his quilt before wrapping around my waist. He didn't say a word, but slowly the tension left his body, as it did mine. Cuddled in against his chest as we lay facing one another on the tiny single bed, I allowed myself one soft kiss against his sleep TShirt. He didn't respond, other than tightening his grip on me, but it was enough. Even if this were his way of saying goodbye, I'd take it. And so with a sad smile on my face, I let him cuddle me to sleep.

* * *

I woke to find my love's cheek resting on top of my head. He was snoring ever so softly, and when I wiggled back a little to observe his face, he was frowning. But his arms were still around me, and he groaned a little and mumbled 'Roza' in his sleep when I leaned up and gave him a lingering kiss on the stubbled underside of his jaw.

I lay there looking at him for another couple of minutes until I thought I heard movement outside in the house. Carefully extricating myself from my beloved's arms I slipped out of bed, smoothing his hair back from his face and taking a final loving look before going to stand behind the door listening carefully. I stayed there for a couple of minutes and hearing nothing I opened the door an inch and peered out into limited part of the hallway I could see. All clear.

Stepping out into the hallway, I carefully closed Dimitri's door behind me. It was just past 5 am. No one would be up. But as I turned to cross the landing to my own bedroom, I saw that I was wrong. Eddie had stepped out of the guy's bathroom and was standing down the other end of the hallway looking at me in horror as I sneaked out of my Russian God's bedroom. It was clear he'd witnessed my illicit escape.

Because my life wasn't fucked up enough already.


	14. Chapter 14

Eddie's contemptuous look stuck with me as I slipped back across to my room. I'd contemplated going to him and explaining, but I just couldn't deal with one more tense conversation.

In my room I climbed back into bed, closing my eyes and remembering the feel of Dimitri's strong arms around me. I didn't know what to read into last night if anything. Was that his way of saying goodbye? Or maybe he was telling me it was going to be ok? I lay in bed for an hour and a half wondering what was going to happen today, and what the hell I was going to say to Eddie. I'm pretty sure I knew what he _thought_ I'd been doing in Dimitri's room, even though he was wrong.

At 6.30 am I sat up and brushed my hair. If the next few hours were my last here, I wanted to leave a favorable impression with my love. I climbed out of bed, visited the bathroom, dressed carefully but not over the top and then tidied my room. Right on 7 am I picked up last night's dinner tray and made my way downstairs to what, no doubt, would be an awkward as hell breakfast.

Walking in and putting the tray down beside the sink, Meredith and Dimitri were already at the table. There was a platter of eggs and bacon in the middle, along with a pitcher of orange juice, toast, and spreads. I sat next to Meredith, diagonally across from Dimitri, and poured myself a drink.

"Morning Rose," Meredith said pleasantly. "Sleep well?"

I quickly gulped down my mouthful of juice.

"It took a while, but I did, eventually, thanks," I murmured, reaching across to grab some toast, and using the opportunity to sneak a look at Dimitri. His face was impassive, and he was pointedly not looking at me, but he seemed perhaps, a little less pissed off than yesterday.

We were spared the effort of making any more chit chat by Eddie's arrival. Plonking himself into the chair next but one to Dimitri, Eddie helped himself to breakfast and in an uncharacteristic display of poor humor said nothing to anyone.

The rest of breakfast was a silent affair. No one spoke, although Eddie didn't take his eyes off me, giving me a reproachful glare the entire time. After a while I kept my eyes focused on my plate. Between Eddie looking at me, and Dimitri not, it was a pretty dismal meal.

When everyone was done, Meredith stood and moved to the kitchen wall to check out my mother's master list of chores and tasks. Because the others were away, it would all need to be rejigged a bit.

"Would you rather do dishes and prepare lunch, or chop wood with Eddie?" Meredith asked, pretending the air wasn't thick with tension.

"I'll chop wood," I volunteered quickly, taking the more onerous of tasks. I didn't want to appear to be slacking off, and it would give me a chance to talk privately with Eddie.

"Eddie? Rose? Can I see you before you start?" Dimitri requested soberly. My Russian God led the way, Eddie and I trailing in his wake. Rather than stopping in the library, Dimitri continued through to Mom's study, gracefully folding himself to sit in the wingback chair behind the handsome mahogany desk.

I sat down on one of the upright chairs on the other side of the table, Eddie taking the one beside me. None of us wanted to be there, and it showed.

"I'm still trying to decide what to do about what happened yesterday," Dimitri admitted, his eyes trained somewhere above our heads and not making eye contact.

"I should report what happened to Guardian Hathaway, or even the Queen's Guard, yet I am not sure it's in anyone's best interests for me to do so."

I was squirming in my chair. It was the first indication that maybe, just maybe, Dimitri might not turn me in. Although that also depended on Eddie who was, understandably, not feeling particularly favorable to me right now.

"I need to know truthfully. Rose is there a chance you were observed?"

I took a deep breath and responded.

"I don't think so. I mean there's always a chance, but I wasn't in there long, and I didn't see anyone."

Technically it was the truth.

"Castile? You weren't in on this with Rose, were you?"

"Certainly not," Eddie said, giving Dimitri a decidedly unfriendly look. Again it was the truth, just not all of it. And apparently, I wasn't the only one who was in Eddie's bad books.

Dimitri looked tired.

"If I tell, Rose will be expelled and in all likelihood charged. The mission will be aborted, and the rest of us will receive black marks on our records, whether we knew about Rose's plans or not. If I _don't_ tell and it gets out, it will be even worse but particularly for us three."

I was trying not to cry. I couldn't see Dimitri agreeing to keep this quiet. But it wasn't me my Russian God was staring at - it was Eddie. The two had their gazes locked, having a silent communication with their eyes. Finally, Eddie dropped his stare to the table.

"I saw nothing, and I'll tell no one," he said in a defeated tone. He turned to me, raising one finger and pointing it at me. "I'm only doing it for Mason," he said before standing to walk out. "It would have broken his heart to see you expelled before you could graduate."

With that, he walked from the room, and a moment later I could hear a rhythmic thump as he started chopping wood.

Dimitri had his eyes closed, and he was rubbing the bridge of his nose with his hand.

"You can go now, Rose," he said, not opening his eyes.

I wanted to ask him if everything was ok between him and me, but it wasn't the time. And if I was honest with myself, after hearing part of his call with Tasha, I was afraid what he might say. So I whispered a soft thank you and left the room, passing through the kitchen and mudroom to join Eddie out the back chopping wood.

I grabbed some logs and an ax, taking my place beside Eddie, splitting them into smaller chunks we could use in the fireplaces and the range. We stood in not so companionable silence, me waiting for him to make the first move. I knew from observing Mason and Eddie's spats over the years there'd be no getting Eddie to talk until he was ready.

"So you must have given Belikov one hell of a ride last night to make him break the rules and let you stay," Eddie said in a voice dripping with derision.

I knew it was what he'd think when he saw me exiting Dimitri's room this morning, but it still hurt to see him so readily believe that of me.

"I didn't do that," I said flatly, refusing to let him see how much his words had hurt me.

"No, of course you didn't," he mocked. "You just went in there to borrow a hair tie, didn't you?!"

I didn't say anything.

"Is that how you got back into the Academy? Did you sleep with the school board, too?! Or just let them feed on you?!"

My head snapped up, and Eddie instantly knew he'd crossed the line. One of the few people to know how Lissa had received blood while we were on the run, I didn't appreciate him throwing it back in my face.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, having the good grace to realize when he'd gone too far. "I just can't believe you'd sleep with an instructor to buy his silence."

"That wasn't what happened, Eddie," I said with a sigh.

"Then tell me what did," he demanded. "If I'm going to keep your secrets, I think I deserve to know the truth."

"You do," I said thoughtfully. "But you need to understand some of these secrets aren't just mine…"

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"It means there's stuff you don't know about. I'll tell you, but I'm trusting you."

Eddie shrugged. It didn't look like my words held much currency with him at the moment.

"I broke in to see if they had a copy of the registration of my birth. When I rang Court, they said the only people allowed to access the original papers were those who were signatories to it. In my case my mother, a doctor or nurse wherever I was born and the registrar. All I was entitled to see was the excerpt I'd been sent."

Eddie was surprised. My reason for doing what I did hadn't occurred to him.

"Alto said it's thought the Alchemists hold data on each of us. And it turns out they do. I searched their computer system, and they had my most recent St. Vlad's ID photo, my current whereabouts, and links to hundreds of documents and files about me or where I'm mentioned. I didn't have time to take a good look, but they had a copy of my registration of birth. It was a scanned version of the original paper form my mother must have filled out when I was born."

I pulled out my phone, swiping into the photo reel to show him the first picture I'd taken from the computer screen. The initial page of my birth registration.

Interested despite himself, Eddie gasped, "Was your father listed?"

"Yeah, he was," I said, my voice shaking a little. "I know it was a stupid thing to do, but I've got a name and some locations where I can start looking," I said emotionally. "My Mom refuses to tell me anything. She's a Guardian, and I could lose her at any time. I know it might be hard for you to understand, but this was my one shot at this. I just want to know," I said, trying to explain why I'd done what I had.

"I get that, but what about Belikov?" Eddie asked, coming back to the other issue. "Did you sleep with him last night?"

"Sleep and _only_ sleep," I said. "Eddie? The thing no one knows is he and I are together. Or maybe were together."

"Together? As in an item?" His eyes looked as though they were about to bug out of his head. "Since when?!"

"Quite a while, but not long," I whispered paradoxically. My heart had been Dimitri's for what seemed like forever, yet we'd only been together a few short weeks.

"How?" Eddie queried, still gaping at me in surprise.

"It kind of started during our training sessions. I really liked him, but he gave me no hint he felt the same way. Then you know after the Equinox Dance when Victor kidnapped Liss? The charm on my necklace wasn't an attack charm. It was a _lust_ charm."

" _That's_ what Victor meant… In court when he talked about statutory rape? He was talking about you and Belikov?" Eddie was putting the pieces together, and I could see the wheels turning in his mind.

"Yeah, but we didn't have sex that night. We came really close, but Dimitri took the necklace off and threw it out the window. Things were weird between us after that, and we just kind of pretended nothing had happened, although a few days later he did tell me he had feelings for me too, but we could never be together."

"So what changed?"

"Christmas. Spokane. I tried to move on. I thought if I gave Mason a chance, maybe I could forget Dimitri, but I couldn't. Dimitri and I were closer after Spokane, but still not together."

Eddie's eyes were filled with the wordless question.

"It was the night of the attack on the campus," I said with a shiver. "You remember that stupid Mana group? They had Lissa and were torturing her. I could feel it through our bond, and it was horrible. I saw red. I just exploded! I tracked them down, and Zeklos was one of the ones hurting her. I went berserk, Eddie," I admitted, tears in my eyes. "I seriously could have killed him. Alberta was there and told Dimitri to take me away and get me under control. He locked me in a cabin on the edge of campus and tried to reason with me. Eventually, he got through to me by admitting how much he loved me. And that's when. Afterward, we were walking back to campus when we saw the first Strigoi. Dimitri fought it and sent me to raise the alarm, and you know the rest."

"So you're together now?"

"I don't know," I admitted, tears in my eyes. "Dimitri said we couldn't be physical again until after graduation, then he was planning to ask if he could be reallocated as Christian's Guardian so I could guard Lissa, and we could be together as a couple. But yesterday after you left, he told me how selfish and irresponsible I'd been, and asked how could I expect him to trust or love me after what I'd done. I knew Mom would throw me out as soon as she heard what I did, and I wanted a chance to say goodbye. So last night I went to his room to tell him I'm sorry and I love him. He didn't say anything, but he listened, and then he lifted the quilt for me to join him. He just held me and nothing more. He didn't say a word, and I slipped out this morning while he was still asleep which is when you saw me."

"You and the Russian God," Eddie breathed. "It's so _obvious_ now you say it," he said with an apologetic smile. "Who else knows?"

"No one. Not even Lissa. And I'm not sure he loves me anymore," I said sadly. "He's so honorable and tries so hard to do the right thing. I've put him in a position where he has to go against everything he believes to protect me. He must hate me for it."

* * *

If things were tense when Mom, Stan, Elizaveta, Artyom, and Blake arrived back, they must have put it down to the aftermath of my fight with my mother. Mom evidently did because, after a nerve-racking lunch where no one said shit, she asked to see me in her study.

"Rosemarie? I'm sorry about what happened before I left. Showing the other girls moves and not inviting you was thoughtless. I'm sorry."

I wish I'd recorded it. My mother rarely apologized to anyone, let alone me!

I shrugged.

"What do you want me to say, Mom? I can't say it's ok because it's not. It hurt. Every time you tell a family story I don't know about, it hurts me. Every time a Novice talks about their family holidays or their trips home or Christmas traditions it stings. It's like they're all part of a completely different world; one I have no part in."

I didn't say it in anger. I was just saying how it was.

"Things weren't exactly easy for me either," my mother said, starting to get her back up.

"I never said they were," I sighed. "But I didn't find anyone to play momsy with to make _you_ feel bad!"

"You did with Rhea Dragomir!" she shot back.

I stared at her aghast. I couldn't believe she'd gone there.

"I had absolutely _no one,_ and you begrudge the pity Rhea had for a kid dumped at the academy and forgotten?"

My mother sat in her chair. The same one Dimitri had sat in hours ago, her lips obstinately closed.

"I'm sorry if Rhea's charity towards me offended you," I said, my voice shaking. "I assure you that was never my intention. I didn't realize that when you abandoned me, denying me your love and attention, you wanted everyone else to do the same! Well, you can comfort yourself that Rhea's dead, now. No competition from that quarter," I snapped, taking off up the stairs and slamming the door to my room.

I hated this place. I hated being here. I hated not knowing what was going on with Dimitri. I hated how stupid I'd been. But more than anything else, I hated my mother. I honestly wish I never had to see her again.

Lying on my bed, I pulled out my phone. I hadn't had the opportunity to go through the information I'd gathered on my ill-fated mission, but since I didn't want to see anyone, and apparently no one wanted to see me, now was as good a time as any to read up on where and who I'd come from.

The registration of my birth was fairly straightforward. It turns out I was born in Montpelier, Vermont. That was a surprise. I could honestly say I'd never heard my mother mention the city or the state. I was born at 11.02 pm and weighed just over seven pounds.

Swiping to the next page, I could see a tiny footprint inked in a purplish blue on the form. My foot as a baby, presumably! Further down there were my mother's details, and then further down again my father's name listed. I diligently read everything documented, smiling at this new information filling out my picture of where I came from.

The registration form finished, I flicked to the next image. The photo I'd taken of Ibrahim Mazur's screen. I enlarged the photo on the screen so I could look at the picture of my father. It had been small enough on the Alchemist's computer screen, so was blurry on my phone, yet I could see we were related. There were enough clues in his hair and colorings. And his eyes. I had my father's eyes.

I looked at the locations listed for him and punched each into a search engine. I wasn't able to find all of them, but I was able to google an address in Turkey and another in Russia. Using 'street view,' I checked out the buildings located there. Both were large, so I wondered whether maybe he lived there with others? Perhaps he had a family?

Beneath the addresses, there was a series of numbers. I looked at it for a moment before appreciating it was a telephone number. Plugging it into a search engine, I was able to ascertain it was a Russian cell number. My mother had said he was Turkish, but maybe he spent time in Russia? Or maybe someone at that number knew how to contact him?

I'd made too many rash, foolish decisions over the last few days to dive into another without due consideration. It honestly felt like my whole life was falling apart – did I really need to add to that?! As the only person who knew where things were at with me, maybe I'd talk it through with Eddie and see what he thought? I'd wanted to know who my father was, and I had a name and perhaps a number. Now the question is – was I brave enough to ring it?


	15. Chapter 15

I didn't get the chance to speak with Eddie alone for a few days, but his supportive smiles and friendly demeanor reassured me things were good between him and me. I didn't have a chance to be alone with Dimitri, either. I wasn't sure whether he was avoiding me, or whether that's just the way it worked out. He was professional whenever we trained or worked together, but he wasn't giving me the loving little glances he had before I'd broken into the Alchemists' bunker. It was impossible not to wonder whether our love was on the rocks.

I was trying to keep my spirits up. I was here, and Dimitri hadn't said he didn't love me. But then he hadn't said he _did._ And with each passing day, it seemed less and less likely that my Russian God still cared for me.

Determined not to be the clingy, pathetic girlfriend (or ex), and not wanting to give Dimitri a reason to think even more poorly of me, I buried my mounting fears and focused my efforts on learning everything I could on the mission and being pleasant and agreeable to everyone. Even my mother. A couple of days after our last run in, I asked her whether she'd have time to run through some training moves with me. I made it clear I was fine if Elizaveta or Meredith wanted to join us, but Mom surprised me by suggesting we train alone. By mutual agreement, we barely said a word beyond training instructions. But silence was a step up from where we'd been recently - so, from that perspective, it was a success. And I'd learned some new moves I'd be able to use on Dimitri the next time we sparred - so all in all, it was a worthwhile endeavor.

Our positive interactions continued the next day when Mom, Blake, and I were scheduled to do the hike to the ranger's cabin to check for any signs of activity. Because of the distance, we'd always drive part way there and back, concealing the car at a different spot each time and hiking in and out. This particular day, Mom stunned me by suggesting I drive while she acted as my second. It was an unexpected gesture of trust, and I'd learned a lot from it.

If I'd been determined to take the high road in my interactions with others, Elizaveta was of the other bent. I had no idea why, but since her night away in Sheridan, she'd been positively feral. Well - to me, at least. At first, her bitchy little comments had been under her breath when only I'd hear them. But when I ignored them, they got more and more pointed and public, although rarely in front of Dimitri or my mother.

"That's _enough_ Novice Vitsin!" Stan snapped one morning at the breakfast table after Elizaveta lobbed a particularly disrespectful remark my way. "You've been making rude comments for days, now. Novice Hathaway might not take exception to them, but I do!"

I looked up at Stan and gave him a surprised look.

"Is there a reason you're letting this insolence pass?" he asked incredulously. The Rose Stan knew would have snapped a long time before now.

"Stan – I'm going to be in charge of defending someone's life in a couple of months," I explained wearily with a shrug. "I haven't got time to get distracted from the things that matter."

I didn't say any more, but my eyes caught Dimitri's, and for the first time since _that_ day, he gave me an approving smile. I guess my efforts to be more responsible about things were being noticed.

"If no one minds, I might go for a run before starting in on the cleaning?" I said after consulting the ever-present roster on the wall.

"Ok if I join you?" Dimitri asked pleasantly. No one else would pick it, but I could tell he was nervous.

"Sure thing," I said with a small smile, although inside my heart was doing cartwheels. Now he'd finally reached out I wasn't sure what I wanted to say.

We set off out the back door, doing a lap of the facility perimeter before approaching the pedestrian gate next to the driveway.

"Why don't we run the roadway again?" Dimitri suggested. He might not remember the last time we'd done this was the day I stuffed everything up between us, but I did.

"Ok," I replied, following him out onto the paved road. I figured he probably wanted as much privacy as possible to say whatever needed to be said.

Despite the connection with the ill-fated day when everything between us changed, getting out of the property was still welcome. We ran in silence for a few minutes before Dimitri spoke.

"Rose? We need to talk."

"Yes," I said, closing my eyes for a second to stop tears leaking down my cheeks. He'd called me Rose, not _Roza._

I was just opening my eyes when I misstepped and started to stumble. Dimitri's hand shot out and grabbed my arm, preventing me from tumbling to the ground. He stopped, holding me hard up against him, both of us panting and only partially from the exertion of our run.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he started, sounding pained.

I cut him off. "No, _I'm_ sorry, Comrade. I fucked up. I know it, and I'll always regret it. I'm sorry I destroyed your trust in me."

"Roza," he soothed, turning me, so I was cuddled in his arms. "Not destroyed. I was angry with you for doing something so irresponsible. I still am. But what I did was even worse."

"What you did?"

"I punished you by saying things to make you think I might not love you anymore, and for that I'm sorry."

Staring up into his gorgeous brown eyes, I could see warmth and affection lingering in their depths again.

"So you do? Still love me?" I whispered. It was the sixty-four thousand dollar question, and I regretted it the second I'd asked it.

"Always, ангел. Can you forgive me?" he replied apprehensively.

"There's nothing to forgive, Comrade," I whimpered, leaning up to kiss him. "I love you." And I did. With everything that was in me, I loved my handsome Russian God.

"What made you decide to forgive me?" I asked nervously, leaning against his chest.

"It was actually Tasha," he admitted. "I rang her and told her I didn't know what to make of a situation I'd found myself in - that I felt my logic was being overridden by my feelings. She told me to look at the situation with my heart, not my head. That my heart would show me the right decision."

"She probably thought you were reconsidering her offer," I suggested, knowing from my time in Lissa's head that that's _exactly_ what she'd assumed.

"No. She knows there'll never be anything between her and me," he said confidently. "But she did help me to see that I love you, and even though I'm disappointed by what you did, it doesn't change how I feel about you." He said the words tenderly. Reverently, even. And suddenly the world had color again! The birds sang in joy, and the scent of spring flowers was in the air. Everything was beautiful now I knew my Russian God still loved me!

I silenced any further discussion with another kiss. Welcome after so many days without, I wanted our kisses to go on forever! They certainly would have gotten deeper had we not heard the rumble of a car in the distance.

"Come on, let's keep running," Dimitri said with an irritated sigh. It looked like he'd been missing our kisses as much as I had! We resumed our pace, running side by side on the edge of the road. A minute or so later one of the SUVs pulled up alongside us, Stan behind the wheel.

"I'm taking Blake and Elizaveta on the cabin run," Stan told Dimitri. "We'll be back in three or four hours."

Dimitri nodded, and I gave the three a friendly wave.

"Janine's just behind me. She's taking Artyom and Meredith to practice driving as firsts and seconds."

Stan drove off, and sure enough five minutes later the other SUV passed us on the road, Meredith waving her hand in greeting from behind the steering wheel.

"Eddie's rostered to gather wood today," I muttered none too subtly. With Eddie foraging for timber and the others otherwise occupied, Dimitri and I would have the house to ourselves. "I've missed you, Comrade. Please let me show you how much…"

"Let's sprint back," he suggested, a knowing look in his eye.

We turned around and increased our speed, cutting our run short and racing back to the house. Charging through the front door and straight up the stairs, I headed directly to my room, pausing only to lock the door as Dimitri followed me inside.

"Close the curtains," he growled his voice low and husky. I did as he bid, yanking the strips of fabric across to cover the sunlit opening before turning to launch myself at my man.

I wasn't stupid enough to think that a make out session was going to fix the damage done by my recent actions, but I knew I'd feel a _whole_ lot better being back in Dimitri's arms, and evidently, he was feeling the same way.

"So beautiful," he moaned, stroking the side of my face as he stepped us backward towards my bed, flopping down onto it and pulling me beside him.

Wrapping my arms around Dimitri's neck, I pulled myself flush against him and kissed him eagerly. We were both hot, sweaty and panting - and in my excited state, it was easy to imagine other activities that could result in a similar state of dishevelment.

"I've missed you so much," I admitted against his lips, tasting the salt from his sweat.

"I've missed you, too," he moaned as he rolled me onto my back, lying on top of me and pushing a leg between my own. "All I've been able to think about is you," he growled.

Opening my mouth to his, I whined as his tongue found mine, softly stroking it as one of his hands wandered down my side to my hip. Slipping a hand underneath the waistband of my sweats, long sensuous fingers of one hand were playing with my hip and the edge of my panties while the others were buried in my long locks.

We kissed for what felt like forever, neither wanting to stop. I was squirming under his touch, relishing his tiny growls as my fingers danced across his neck, diving into his hair and pulling it gently. I arched my back, pushing my rib cage hard up against his. He pulled back slightly, his eyes opening to gaze at me.

"I couldn't give you up, even if I tried," he groaned.

"And did you try?" I whispered, my voice not giving away my apprehension.

"Not very hard," he chuckled self deprecatingly, returning his lips to mine and kissing me again. "I don't _want_ to give you up, Roza."

Melting against him, I needed to be as close to him as it was possible for a man and a woman to get. Hooking one of my ankles around his legs, I trapped him against me, rocking my hips against his.

He dragged his lips from mine, a tortured gasp escaping his lips. Eyes closed, his kisses found my cheek and slowly made their way across to my ear. He took my earlobe into his mouth, nipping it slightly and teasing it with his tongue.

"Dimitri!" I hissed softly, my hips bucking against his. I'd slipped my hands up under his shirt and was stroking the sculpted plains of his back as he relinquished my earlobe, his lips finding other pleasurable places to play. Pausing at the point where my pulse pumped precipitously, I moaned at his meandering ministrations on my neck.

He pulled away from me, and I couldn't help my disappointed sigh. But he pulled me into a sitting position, grabbing my sweaty workout shirt and pulling it upward, tossing it from me as though its very existence offended him – which given we'd just been running and I was sweaty, maybe it did? Before he could stop me, I similarly disposed of my bra and made short work of my sweat pants and panties. If his intention was to hold back or deny me, I wasn't going to make it easy for him!

"Roza!" he groaned, half admonishing yet undeniably also with excitement. "You know we shouldn't…"

"I know," I agreed, nonetheless pulling him back down onto my now naked form. I expected him to be guarded. I expected him to hold back. I didn't expect him to growl "Fuck it," under his breath and kiss me hard, his fingers trailing down my body to my folds, slick with excitement and expectation. He dallied there, fondling me for just a moment before sinking a couple of fingers inside me.

My eyes rolled back as he pulled back from me, watching as I lost myself to his touch. His eyes were dark and carnal, his lips a knowing smirk.

"That's it, isn't it?" he crooned, working his fingers in my most private place. "Is that what you need?"

"Yes… I need you, Dimitri" I whispered, grasping his biceps. They were tense – one from holding his weight off me, the other from massaging me from the inside. He was rubbing his fingertips in a circular motion around and around on the front wall of my pussy. It wasn't the movement I'd expected, yet it felt mind blowing.

I shifted to one side so he could lie down beside me. Resting his head on my bare breast, he kept up his fingers' actions down below as I opened my legs further to him, giving him better access to my core. Repositioning his hand, slightly, he brought the pad of his thumb up to the tight bundle of nerves at the top of my slit. Brushing it lightly, I almost jumped off the bed. Everything was so new and unfamiliar - everywhere he touched caused a reaction.

His chuckle was warm, but rather than embarrassed I felt loved.

"You're so excited," he said with a glorious smile, angling his head to watch me as he sent me on my way to complete and utter abandon.

"Ughh…" I agreed inarticulately as the pad of his thumb determinedly circled my clit, drawing excited mewls from my lips.

As he worked his magic between my thighs, Dimitri was rocking his hips against my side, pushing his manhood against me again and again. Reaching between us, I awkwardly grasped him, running my hand up and down over the bulge in his sweats. He muttered something approving in Russian and intensified what he was doing with his fingers. Leaning down, I brought my lips back to his, tongues tangling. My eyes closed, I let myself go to the delight of his touch, reveling in his the sensations his long sensuous fingers were eliciting and in the taste of his mouth on mine.

My Russian God's fingers were getting faster, and I could feel a torturous tightening across the top of my chest and further down. My abdominal muscles were clenching, and my heart was starting to race.

"Please…?" I whimpered.

He chuckled again, a knowing tone in his voice as he quietly soothed, "You're nearly there…"

"Yes," I cried, wanting to cum, but also wanting this feeling to last forever. Everything he was doing felt so good. My breathing ragged, I gasped as Dimitri moved his lips to my breast, grasping my nipple between his teeth and alternating between nipping and sucking at it.

Before I knew what was happening, my hips were bucking uncontrollably, and I was wailing loudly. I was so damned close, now, and like the tides, there'd be no holding this back!

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" I shouted as the first wave of pleasure crashed through my body, finding its ultimate release in my core. Dimitri changed what he was doing, thrusting his fingers in and out frenetically as I came long, hard and violently against his fingers. His lips were still on my breast, and he nipped me there sharply, only adding to the overwhelming feelings coursing through my body.

My pussy clamping on his fingers, it felt like I would never stop cumming, but it was only a few moments later when I started to come down from my orgasmic high. I was opening my mouth to tell Dimitri how amazing he'd made me feel, and to suggest he replace his fingers with his cock so he could experience relief as well when I heard footsteps outside my door.

Dimitri pulled back and looked at me in horror as the handle to my door rattled.

"Rosemarie? What's going on in there? What are you doing?! I _demand_ you open this door!"

Holy fucking shit! It was my mother! We must have been at it longer than I thought because obviously she was back.

Dimitri was off the bed in an instant, looking around him in a panic. I pointed to the window, and he nodded. I pulled aside the drapes, carefully looking out to make sure no one was outside. I lifted the sash, opening the window to its fullest.

"Go!" I mouthed, pointing. He obliged immediately, launching himself through the window and down onto the springy ground below.

"Rosemarie?! Open this door _right now!"_ My mother's disembodied voice echoed through the closed door, sounding irate.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep your hair on!" I replied, noiselessly closing the window and watching as Dimitri took off away from the house and into the trees.

I looked around, quickly making sure there was no sign Dimitri had been here. But other than a rumpled bed, and the scent of sex in the air, it was clear. I pulled the curtains closed, quickly putting back on my clothes.

"Rosemarie!" My mother's admittedly almost non-existent patience was at an end.

"What?" I asked, turning the key in the lock and opening the door to look at my mother.

Taking in my disheveled state, Mom's first move was to look around my room. Seeing no one, she stepped inside, checking the closet and then walking across to open the drapes and peer out the window.

"Who was in here with you?" she growled at my retreating form.

"No one," I tossed over my shoulder as I headed downstairs, seeking safety in numbers. Surely she wouldn't pursue this conversation in front of others?

"Don't lie to me!" she shouted, following me from my room, down the stairs, into the kitchen and then the mud room. I washed my hands, nodding to Dimitri and Eddie who came in from outside.

"She's on the warpath… She thinks she heard me in my room with someone…" I whispered conspiratorially, before leaving them to wash their hands while I walked back into the kitchen. Meredith and Artyom were sitting at the kitchen table looking at me quizzically.

"I heard noises from your room!" my mother accused.

"I didn't say you didn't!"

Eddie and Dimitri appeared in the doorway between the mudroom and the kitchen, watching the scene playing out in front of them.

"Where have you two been?" my mother asked suspiciously.

"Finding logs to chop for the range," Eddie supplied immediately, answering for both of them. His face was a picture of innocence, but he'd obviously put two and two together, and I would have kissed him on the spot for covering for Dimitri and I if it wouldn't have given Mom the _completely_ wrong idea.

Mom turned back to me.

"Why was your door locked?"

I shrugged, blushing a little. "I wanted some privacy."

"Why did you need privacy?" she shot back.

"I didn't want to be interrupted."

"Interrupted from _what?_ I heard noises, Rosemarie!"

"I'm sure you did!" I snapped.

"I want to know what was going on in your bedroom and who was in there with you!" she shouted.

"Can we not talk about this?" I groaned.

"I demand to know what you were doing, and I want to know _now!"_ she shouted.

"Fine!" I snapped, turning to face her. "I was masturbating, ok? Now almost the entire house knows, can we _please drop this?"_

It was a kodak moment. My mother's mouth was open, but nothing was coming out. At the table Meredith looked mildly surprised, Artyom confused. Eddie was standing with Dimitri looking shocked, and Dimitri? Well, he had his Guardian mask yanked on so firmly I doubt he'd be able to show any emotion for a month.

Eddie broke the moment by walking across to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair, followed by my love.

"Do girls _do_ that?" he asked an amused Meredith in an undertone as he sat down.

"Of course they do, Castile," she chided, rolling her eyes.

He was silent for a moment.

"Often?"

"It depends how bad my week's been, Eddie," I said with a cheeky grin, albeit a very red face.


	16. Chapter 16

"Why did Eddie cover for me?" Dimitri asked under his breath later that evening.

Stan, Elizaveta, and Blake had returned a few hours previously and we'd all just finished dinner. The others had gone through to the library, while Dimitri and I were rostered to do the dishes.

"He kind of knows about us," I whispered back.

Dimitri froze, lifting an eyebrow. Even without words, he was clearly asking 'What the hell?'

"He saw me sneaking out of your bedroom that morning," I explained. "When you spoke with us in the study, he assumed I'd had sex with you to buy your silence."

"He thought that?" Dimitri growled. I didn't know whether he was objecting to the slight on my character or his own.

"Well if you look at the circumstances, it's a logical conclusion to come to."

Dimitri shrugged but then nodded in agreement.

"Later on we talked, and I explained it wasn't what he thought. I explained that you and I loved each other."

I was trying not to look nervous as I kept washing the dishes. Dimitri was so private and so worried about the consequences should we be discovered, he was likely to flip out about this news.

"How'd he take it?" he asked with feigned casualness.

"Very supportive," I muttered. "Surprised at first, but when he thought about it, he said he's amazed he didn't see it before. He's not going to say anything."

Dimitri kept drying the dishes, silent as this new information sunk in.

"You're not angry?" I probed. Things were only just semi-resolved between my Russian God and me - the last thing I wanted was anything to upset things. Especially after the thrilling morning we'd spent together.

"It's ok," he said, although he sounded a little nervous. "But we're going to have to be a _lot_ more careful!"

"I know," I whispered apologetically. "I'm sorry about this morning. I just got so excited…"

"I noticed!" he whispered with a smile.

"On the plus side, I don't think Artyom is ever going to be able to look at me again," I said with a giggle. "I think I've terrified him!"

Since the humiliating events in the kitchen this morning, Artyom had been actively avoiding me.

Dimitri grunted unhappily. "He's an eighteen-year-old guy who likes you. Believe me, the idea of you doing that to yourself would be anything but terrifying. If he's avoiding you, it's only because he's ridiculously turned on!"

"Do you think so?" I laughed disbelievingly.

"I _know_ so," Dimitri said petulantly, grabbing another plate to dry. "I am…"

* * *

The next few days passed quietly. Thankfully no one felt the need to raise the topic of my 'self-loving,' although Dimitri was right about one thing. If anything, Artyom's attentions towards me had multiplied. And as they did, so did Elizaveta's vitriol.

"I think she's jealous of you," Meredith commented as we trudged through the undergrowth following my Mom to the ranger's cabin. "She's really really close to her brother. I don't think she likes the idea that he's into you."

"Well, I'm not into _him,"_ I defended.

"No. You're into someone a lot taller and darker."

I closed my mouth my thoughts reeling.

"It's ok, Rose. I think it's sweet. I know you can't be public about things until you graduate, so I won't say anything."

"Is it that obvious?" I hissed.

"I had my suspicions before the rescue, but when you went back for him, I knew for sure then."

I groaned. 'Dimitri and Rose'; St. Vladimir's worst kept secret, by the sound of it.

"Does anyone else suspect?"

"Not that I've noticed," she reassured me before increasing the speed of her steps and drawing closer to Mom.

The cabin looked the same way it always had. No cars, curtains open and no sign of occupation. Still, we didn't talk as we dutifully made our way around the cabin from within the tree line. If there was someone in there, it didn't pay to announce our presence. Satisfied the building was still unoccupied, we started the hike back to the car.

Once we were a mile from the cabin, Mom started up one of her teaching discussions. It was a productive use of time, and since hiking was generally boring, it helped the time to pass.

"Since it's just us girls today, I thought I might run through some of the more challenging aspects of being a female Guardian," my mother started ominously. For the next hour, she ran us through a variety of tips and tricks to get out of awkward situations we might encounter, as well as warning us about certain Moroi and male Guardians well known for having a predatory interest in young female Guardians. It was a sobering warning and a reminder that my Mom was a renowned female Guardian for a reason. Grudgingly I admitted what she said had merit.

"It hasn't escaped my attention that Novice Vitsin is interested in you, Rosemarie," my mother said out of Meredith's earshot as we were approaching the car. "I hope you're not doing anything to encourage him?"

"I know, and no," I sighed. "He's a nice guy, but I don't feel that way about him."

"Make sure he knows that," my mother directed. "You can't afford for people - for _men -_ to get the wrong idea about you. It isn't _fair_ , and it isn't _right_ , but as a female Guardian, you need to be vigilant about your reputation. There are men out there who will justify their actions to themselves, and others, on the basis of a reputation they'll try and give you."

We climbed into the car and set off toward the property, Meredith driving, me as second.

* * *

That night I was feeling restless. Dimitri wasn't in the library with the rest of us. He was upstairs in his room making his once a week phone call to his family. While he wasn't allowed to tell them where he was or much about what he was doing, between his mother, grandmother, three sisters, a nephew and the excitement of a newly arrived niece, he joked he wasn't required to say much, anyway!

I walked up the stairs, loitering on the landing outside Dimitri's room where I could hear tinny laughter through a phone speaker, and occasionally Dimitri's warm voice speaking in his native tongue. He sounded relaxed and happy, and it was with a pang that I thought I'd never have that - a playful, relaxed conversation with my family. My only family was sitting downstairs, giving me pointed glances every time Artyom gave me one of his hopeful ones.

Mom was right. I did have to set Artyom straight, and I would. But not tonight.

I lay on my bed toying with my phone, wondering what time it was in Russia. It was 8.00 pm here. A quick check of the world time app on my phone revealed it was 8.00 am in Baia where Dimitri's family lived. Of course, Russia was huge. I wondered what time it was where my father possibly lived. I checked the Russian address and then plugged the town name into the world time app. 9 am.

Whether he ran on a Moroi or human timetable, it would be a reasonable time to ring. Either the start or the end of his day. Not too early or too late. But then what would I say? "Hi! My name is Rose Hathaway, and I think you might be my father?"

I chuckled. Well, I suppose it did get all the pertinent info across…

I stared at the photo I'd taken of the screen with my father's photo and information. Chances are the number wasn't even current, I reassured myself as I jotted the number down on the back of my training notepad.

I dialed the numbers before my good sense had a chance to stop me. I wanted to know, didn't I? Didn't I have a _right_ to know?

There was nothing for quite some time. Just the beep of numbers and then some electronic clicks followed by what sounded like a ring tone.

Now I'd done it I wasn't sure I wanted to. I was just about to hang up when the phone was answered. In Russian. At least I thought it was Russian. Oh shit! I hadn't thought about it, but what if he couldn't speak English? Mom didn't speak Russian. Or Turkish. She wouldn't have had sex with a guy she couldn't communicate with. Would she?

The man on the other end repeated his greeting, sounding a little cranky.

"Um? Hello? Is that Ibrahim Mazur?" I asked, my voice quivering. I sounded all of about ten years old, I thought with embarrassment.

"Who wants to know?" the man said, switching into flawless albeit slightly accented English. Well. That was one question answered I guess!

"Rose Hathaway. I'm looking for Ibrahim Mazur. I think he might be my father."

There was silence on the line, and then the man started laughing uproariously. He was almost gasping for air he was laughing so much.

"No seriously, who is this?" he asked, sounding amused.

I was mortified. I hadn't thought he might find my phone call funny.

"I'm sorry! This was a stupid idea," I said, quickly hanging up.

I threw my phone down on the bed beside me. I was so embarrassed. I'd rung the man who might be my father only to have him not believe me. I felt like such an idiot. Even if he was my father, I doubt he'd want anything to do with me, now. That's what happens when you act without a plan, I mentally castigated myself, angrily wiping at the tears trickling down my cheeks.

I was about to get up and head for the shower when my phone rang. I picked it up, looking at the caller ID in alarm.

Oh hell! It was him! I hadn't blocked my caller ID when I'd rung him, and now he was ringing me back.

Did I answer it? Let it go to voicemail? This might be my only chance. He might not reach out again.

I answered the phone somehow managing to drop it at the same time.

"Fuck!" I growled, picking it up and then saying a cautious hello.

"Rose Hathaway?" the same voice as before asked.

"Yes?"

"This is Ibrahim Mazur. Abe. I'm sorry about before. Your call took me by surprise. So you think I might be your father?"

"Um. Hi. Yeah." I didn't know what else to say.

"So I suppose your mother is Janine Hathaway? Red haired Guardian?" he asked sounding a little amused yet also nervous.

"That's right," I confirmed with a skittish laugh.

"And how old are you?" he continued.

"I turned eighteen a few weeks ago," I supplied. He was quiet for a moment, and then I heard him muttering something to someone else in another language and them replying in agreement.

"So what makes you think I'm your father? Is that what your mother told you?"

"No. My mother has never told me anything about my father. I did some of my own investigations, and your name came up. I also found a photo of you, and we look a lot alike."

"Is that so?" He sounded amused again.

"Yeah. I have your hair," I said with a little laugh.

"So Rose?" he said my name cautiously. Even a little fearfully. "What is it you want?"

"I don't know," I admitted, surprisingly myself by starting to cry. "I'm not very close with my mother, and I've never known anything of my family background. I guess I just want to know where it is I come from," I whispered in embarrassment into my phone.

* * *

I woke up the next morning feeling strangely at peace. Abe and I had spoken for over an hour last night, and while we didn't get into the nitty gritty of things, he admitted that based on timing, there was a chance he was my father. He'd asked me to send him a photo, which I did straight after I'd got off the phone; snapping off about twenty selfies until I found one I didn't hate too much.

I'd texted it across then left my phone on my bed while I went to take a shower.

' _You have my eyes as well as my hair'_ was on the screen when I came back into the room. _'I'll be in touch, Abe.'_

I couldn't help but see things in a different light the next morning when I came down to breakfast. Somehow, having even my most basic questions answered had made me feel more settled.

I sat in silence, eating my toast and running over the new information in my head. Ibrahim – Abe as he preferred to be called – was forty-one, single and up until last night he'd believed he had no children. He described himself as a businessman with interests throughout Europe and to a lesser extent the United States.

I'd told him about growing up at the Academy, running away with Lissa and the attack on the school. I knew I couldn't tell him about the mission I was on, so I'd explained the senior Novices had been sent off on a variety of simulated missions, or to other academies to finish their training. I'd mentioned I'd been sent to Wyoming with five other students and three Guardians, one of whom was Mom.

He'd seemed particularly interested in my relationship with Mom, so I'd explained we had next to no connection and things were generally strained between us. Although I was curious as hell, he didn't say anything at all about his own relationship with my mother; beyond telling me he hadn't seen or heard of her in almost nineteen years. Reading between the lines, my assumption I was the result of a one night stand seemed to be correct.

Still – he'd seemed interested in me, and his text had been promising. I didn't know what I wanted from him, but so far so good.

"Rosemarie? Are you listening?" my mother asked, giving me a sharp look.

"Sorry, Mom. I was daydreaming," I admitted, lifting my eyes apologetically to meet hers.

"I was saying how pleased I am with the progress you've all been making," she continued. "I've looked at the roster, and unless something comes up, I thought the weekend after this one, Guardian Belikov could take Eddie, Meredith and yourself to Sheridan for the weekend. Everyone's been working hard, and you four didn't get to go on the last night away."

Eddie, Meredith and I were grinning. A night away from the compound was something to look forward to! We'd all been on shopping missions to Sheridan - nine Dhampir on premises meant we had to do a big grocery shop every week - but a night in town meant we could catch a movie, go out to a restaurant and actually relax! And better still, the twins, Blake, Stan and my mother wouldn't be there!

My eyes flicked to my Russian God, and I could see he was pretty excited by the idea, too. With a bit of luck, we might be able to sneak away from the others for some romantic time together. It shouldn't be _too_ hard given they both knew about us.

"Of course, we expect perfect behavior between now and then," Stan growled, looking at everyone but particularly me.

* * *

"Artyom? We've got a Guardian Protocols session with Guardian Alto in half an hour. I was wondering whether you'd like to take a walk with me first?" I asked innocuously at the end of breakfast the next day.

His head shot up, and he agreed instantly. I gave him a small tight smile, turning to put my empty dishes in the sink. I hadn't missed my mother's approving look. I wandered out through the mudroom, Artyom following close on my heels.

"So how are you enjoying America so far?" I asked as I set out walking around the house. "Is it what you expected?"

"It's been full of unexpected surprises," he said in his accented voice, giving me a tender look. "It's much more beautiful than I thought it would be. I'm enjoying my time here very much."

He reached out and tried to grab my hand, but I quickly lifted it to scratch my neck, taking it out of his reach.

"That's nice," I said trying to steer the conversation away from murky waters. "I've heard Russia is also very beautiful. I hope to see it one day."

It was the worst thing I could have said. Artyom seemed to take it as some sort of covert message of love, his eyes lighting up immediately.

"I'd love to show it to you one day, Roza."

I shivered. I knew Roza was the Russian version of my name, but coming out of a mouth other than Dimitri's, it sounded wrong.

"Rose. My name is Rose," I said quickly. "Artyom? I don't want to read too much into things, but I've been getting the idea that you might kind of like me?" He didn't say anything, but his look was smoldering. "I thought we should talk about that…"

We were walking around the side of the house near the sparring ring, and I swear I'd rather spar with even Blake than be having this conversation.

"Roz.. Rose – you're right. I like you very much," Artyom said, stopping me and pulling me into his arms. Before I knew it, his lips were on mine, and he was kissing me. I was so shocked I couldn't react. Being kissed by him was strange. Nothing at all like kissing Dimitri.

I pushed him away with an incensed look.

"Artyom! I brought you out here to tell you I'm not interested in you in that way!" I snapped. "I'm not interested in being anything other than friends!"

"If you gave me a chance, I am sure you'd find we could be good together," he said, trying to snake his arm around my waist again.

"She said _no,"_ an indignant Dimitri said stepping around the corner of the house. He must have seen and heard everything. "Get into the sparring ring, Novice Vitsin," he snarled, a vein in his forehead throbbing with anger. "Someone needs to teach you some manners!"


	17. Chapter 17

"I told you before, Novice Vitsin, that I expect you to behave in a gentlemanly manner toward the ladies of this household. If Novice Hathaway says she's not interested in you in that way, then _she's not interested!"_

Dimitri sat on a log at the side of the makeshift sparring ring, stripping his shirt off along with his boots. The boots coming off were a given. But the shirt? He only did that when he really meant business.

"Take your shirt off, Novice Vitsin," he ordered in a voice that brooked no refusal.

I was worried that Dimitri might do Artyom some real damage, so I took off – racing inside to get my mother. I knew it took a lot to provoke my Russian God's ire, but once he was angry enough, he could do anything. Seeing another man kiss me seemed to have done the job. I was hoping my mother's presence might be enough to help my beloved reign in his temper.

"Mom! I think you'd better come outside!" I said running through the mudroom and into the kitchen.

One look at my flushed face and flustered demeanor was enough to have Mom out of her chair, following me out the back door and around the side of the building. Naturally, the rest of our housemates followed.

"I don't like men who don't listen when a lady says she's not interested," Dimitri was saying in a low voice to Artyom who was reluctantly standing in the ring, warily eyeing off an incensed Russian Guardian half a foot taller than him. "You might be bigger than her, but you're not bigger than me. I think you need to be reminded to keep your hands to yourself!"

My mother's eyes shot to mine.

"I was telling Artyom I wasn't interested, but before I got it out, he kissed me. I pushed him away and told him I only wanted friendship, but he tried to grab me again, and Dimitri saw."

Mom looked annoyed, but Stan sized up the situation, quickly appreciating my Russian God was not going to back down without getting the opportunity to prove his point.

"Competition rules. No hits to the face. The winner will be the first to stake the other three times," Alto declared, standing to the side of the ring preparing to adjudicate.

Dimitri stood inside the ring, rolling his shoulders. Without his shirt on, we were all free to see his magnificent rippling muscles, and I'd be lying if said I didn't use the opportunity to take a long, hard look at the man I loved. Artyom also had his shirt off, and while he was muscled too, he looked like a boy compared to the manly Dimitri.

"On three," Stan instructed, counting the guys in.

The rest of us stood watching as Dimitri pinned Artyom in about four seconds. The poor kid didn't have a chance. He made one move, and Dimitri had him to the ground, faux staking him.

"Again," Alto announced. Dimitri stood back, not offering the younger man his hand as he awkwardly scrambled to his feet.

This time Dimitri went straight on the offensive, spinning Artyom and staking him from behind before the lad had a chance to make a move.

"Dead," Dimitri announced in a dispassionate voice.

"Dead," Alto agreed. "Again."

The third time, Dimitri let Artyom take the offensive, deflecting the young Dhampir's blows easily - the way one would swat an annoying fly. While his face gave nothing away, I could see my Russian God analyzing the other man's fighting style, always one step in front. After letting him exhaust himself, Dimitri made his move, tripping him and sending him tumbling to the ground. With a move that was deceptively elegant, Dimitri dropped beside him, shoving one knee firmly into the younger man's back, forcing his face into the grass.

"Dead," Dimitri said, rising smoothly. "Next time a lady says no, I suggest you listen," he growled to Artyom. "Make your peace with, Rose. I'm going for a drive," he announced, striding inside. Moments later we heard the front door slam and the engine of one of the vehicles roar.

Elizaveta raced to her brother's side, helping him up from the grass. She was seething, but he just looked embarrassed.

"What the hell caused Belikov to react like that?" my mother demanded, looking first to Artyom then to me.

"He's really funny about the way men treat women," I said, trying to explain away his reaction without causing more suspicion. "He has three sisters in a Dhampir settlement. I think it might be because of them?"

"That's right," Eddie chimed in. "He took one of our classes once, and Dean was mucking around and slapped Chelsea on the ass. Guardian Belikov almost blew a gasket. He made Dean run around the oval for two hours after school before lecturing him for an hour about respecting women." It was a bit of an exaggeration, but I can remember Dimitri had been far from impressed and made sure Dean knew it.

"As well he should," my mother replied in a frosty tone, giving Artyom an arch look. "I think we can all go back inside now."

Artyom and Elizaveta were having a whispered argument in Russian. She turned and gave me a scathing look before following Blake and Meredith inside. Artyom dallied trying to catch me alone, but Eddie was loitering, too. I gave him a little head shake to tell him it was ok. I couldn't see Artyom trying anything after Dimitri had just humiliated him by handing him his ass.

"Rose. I was wrong about your feelings. I'm sorry," he said blushing and not meeting my eyes.

"Just don't try it again," I said. "Unlike Belikov, I'll smack you in the face if you do," I warned.

"I'll remember that. You have an efficient right hook," he said with an attempt at humor.

"That I do," I said giving him a small smile.

Eddie and I were alone in the kitchen making bread when Dimitri arrived back almost two hours later. He came in carrying a couple of bags of groceries.

"There's more in the trunk," he told Eddie, canting his head to tell him to get out there to fetch it.

"All good, Roza?" Dimitri asked softly as soon as Eddie had left.

"You didn't need to do that Comrade," I rebuked. "I can look after myself you know."

"It wasn't the kiss that upset me. It was when he tried to grab you after you'd said no."

"I could have handled it," I reiterated.

"I know," he said, handing me a quart of ice cream in silent apology. Choc peanut brittle. I don't even know how he knew it was my favorite. I smiled at his peace offering. He must have driven all the way to Sheridan and back. He'd done well to get it here without it melting in the sun.

"Have I told you how much I love you, Comrade?" I whisper laughed, grabbing a spoon.

"Once or twice," he said with a grin. "You intending to share that?" he asked.

"I hadn't planned to," I admitted, wrapping my arm around it protectively.

"Lucky I bought some for the rest of us then, isn't it?" he laughed, taking some bags from Eddie as he brought them through them into the kitchen.

Dimitri placed another eight tubs of ice cream on the table. There were various flavors, and he took a careful look before choosing a choc chip one for himself. Eddie claimed a cookies and cream tub before putting his head out the door into the corridor and shouting, "Belikov's back and he's brought ice cream. Come get it before Rose scoffs it all!"

There was the trampling of feet as everyone descended on the kitchen. Mom grabbed a strawberries and cream tub, snatching it out from beneath Blake's nose. Within minutes we were all seated at the kitchen table enjoying our unexpected treat, the unpleasantness of the morning forgotten.

* * *

 _Rose. I am coming to America for business next week. I can come to where you are if you're free to meet? Abe_

I stared at the message again. It had arrived while I was chopping wood with Blake. I'd come upstairs to get ready for a theory session with Mom and Eddie and there it was.

This was all happening so quickly. We'd gone from first phone call to potentially meeting up with my Moroi father in less than a week. Now the opportunity to meet was there, and I wasn't sure I wanted to. What if he didn't like me? What if I didn't like him?

I couldn't just ignore the message. While it could be coincidental Abe had business in this part of the world, I had to wonder whether his visit was primarily to meet me.

I hadn't told anyone about getting in touch with my father. I'd been going to talk to Eddie, but hadn't found the right time. Lissa was out. Even though we spoke on the phone weekly, she didn't even know where I was, exactly, and had no idea there were Alchemists, let alone what they did and that I was guarding one of their facilities. And I couldn't tell Dimitri without admitting why I'd broken into the Alchemist's building – a topic we were both assiduously avoiding. So I'd kept my interactions with Abe to myself.

Looking at the message a final time, I tapped back; _I'll be in Sheridan next weekend, Saturday and Sunday. Can you make lunch on Saturday?_

I plugged my phone back into charge, taking the stairs two at a time, heading into the study Mom was using as her office and sitting in front of her desk beside Eddie.

"Today I'm going to take you through filling out Guardian paperwork," she said with an apologetic smile. "Rosemarie, I know you've completed paperwork for your kills previously, but I'm afraid that's just the tip of the iceberg."

She pulled out a thick sheaf of papers, placing them one by one on the desk in front of her and explaining what each was for and when we might expect to have to use it. She was right. Apparently, Guardians had paperwork for just about everything! I sat there half listening, instead wondering about what occurred between her and Abe.

He sounded so much more open and impulsive than my rigid, rule-driven mother. I couldn't picture how they'd worked. From the little I knew either of them, they seemed like polar opposites.

Two hours later, Eddie and I had reached saturation point. We followed Mom into the kitchen where she was about to start making lunch. Sandwiches. _Again._

"Mom?" I suggested sweetly, "there are lots of leftovers we should use up. Why don't Eddie and I put together lunch while you relax a bit?"

"That's very thoughtful, thank you, Rosemarie," my mother replied, escaping without a backward glance.

"Thank Vlad," Eddie laughed walking to the fridge to investigate what we could turn into lunch. "I couldn't take another day of sandwiches!"

We worked quietly side-by-side, heating up leftovers and piling meats and cheeses into impromptu antipasto platters, but I could see there was something on Eddie's mind.

"Care to share?" I asked after he'd sighed for the third time.

"It's nothing," he said in a tone of voice that meant it was something.

"It doesn't sound like nothing," I said, lifting myself to sit on the butcher's block counter and looking him squarely in the eyes.

He frowned. "I just wonder whether we're going to be ready. Artyom's meant to be the best male Novice at St. Basil's and Dimitri completely owned him this morning. I'm apparently the highest ranked male Novice at St. Vlad's and the two times I've encountered Strigoi I've been a hostage and you've had to save me. I just feel hopelessly unprepared for what I'm going to face out there."

I'd never thought about it, but he was right. We'd been held hostage in Spokane, and he was one of the ones taken in the school attack, too. The sad thing was, I knew for Eddie it wasn't about ego. His confidence in his ability to succeed in his career had been shaken, and that was a hard thing to regain.

"Eddie you're going to _rock_ being a Guardian," I argued, trying to come up with the words to reassure him. "You're smart, dedicated, diligent and you care about the Moroi you protect. You were captured at the school because you wouldn't back down. You could have left the Moroi you were protecting and saved yourself, but you didn't. You put everything into it, even putting yourself in additional danger."

"But I wasn't good enough, was I? I know Guardian lives are short. I know I'll probably die protecting my charge," Eddie said bleakly. "I just want to be good enough to make a difference," he finished softly.

"You will be," Dimitri said, coming in through the mud room and catching the last of our conversation. He clapped his arm around Eddie's shoulder. "Roza? You ok to finish setting up lunch? Castile and I are going to go look for more firewood."

There was plenty of wood. _More_ than enough for the time being, but I knew Dimitri was taking Eddie out for a chat to give him the sort of reassurance I couldn't. Dimitri was legitimately the voice of experience, while still young enough that Eddie could relate to him. I watched the two of them wander off into the trees surrounding the house as I stirred the contents of several saucepans on the stovetop.

I laughed at me cooking lunch for six. Yeah, it was only reheats, but I'd become surprisingly adept at finding my way around the kitchen. I'd never be a chef, but thanks to Dimitri, if I ever had to take Lissa on the run again, we wouldn't have to survive on pop-tarts and pizza pockets. Not that there was _anything_ wrong with them, of course!

"Where's Castile?" Mom asked, wandering in to check on the status of lunch.

"He's outside with Dimitri. Eddie's feeling a bit freaked out about graduating, so Dimitri's talking with him."

Mom nodded sagely.

"So are you still hoping to guard Vasilisa?" Mom inquired, watching me carefully.

"That's the plan," I said blithely.

"Well, you could do a lot worse than being partnered with Belikov. He'll teach you a lot."

I nearly wet myself until I twigged she meant partnered in a guarding sense.

"Yeah. He's great, and we get along well. I've learned heaps from him already." Mom looked thoughtful, and I was getting a little worried about the direction of her thoughts. "Who was your first guarding partner?" I asked quickly.

"Oh – I wasn't assigned to a high-risk Moroi. I didn't have a guarding partner, and my first charge was a cantankerous Tarus in his eighties. He flitted from warded property to property in Europe, vacationing with other elderly Royals. My only life-saving task was keeping track of his medications!"

"That must have been disappointing?" I mused, trying to imagine a younger version of my mother pandering to a capricious octogenarian.

"It was as dull as dishwater," my Mom said with a small laugh. "But they would all be in bed by 8 am, which gave the other Guardians and me a chance to relax a bit," Mom chuckled. Personally, I found the idea of my mother relaxing hard to picture, but she'd been eighteen. My age.

"So where were you based?" I continued, trying to pump her for as much information as I could.

"We were all over the place. We started in London and were there for six months, and then he headed to the continent. That was the done thing in those days," she explained. "Wealthy American Royals would do their final 'European Tour,' visiting the motherland."

"To see where their families came from?"

"Well, that was the idea, although it was mostly an excuse to flit from party to party," Mom snorted. "After London, we spent time in Luxembourg, then Frankfurt, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia and then Istanbul."

My mother had a funny expression on her face; lost in memories of a time long gone.

"Even with an elderly charge, it must have been fun to go to all those cities?" I coaxed.

"I loved it," she agreed. "I never traveled as a bairn. Until I graduated, the furthest I'd been was the odd school trip to London. Seeing the old cities was magical. We'd take it in turns going out into the wee hours after our charges were asleep," Mom confided. "Half the time I was dead on my feet the next day! Not that that was an appropriate thing to do," she added, quickly realizing what she'd said.

"They were within wards," I said giving her a little shrug. "Which was your favorite city?"

"Budapest or Istanbul. They were both so different to anything I knew."

"Istanbul? That's where you met my father?"

"No. I met him in Bucharest."

She'd answered me before she'd really thought about it. Suddenly her eyes were guarded, and her mouth was shut. I knew there'd be no more answers from her today. Trying not to make her even more defensive, I moved the conversation forward.

"I really want to see Paris and Amsterdam. Lissa used to go to Europe every summer when her parents were alive, and they're her favorite places. Every summer she'd bring me back miniature Eiffel Tower figurines and decorative clogs. I still have them in a box back at the academy. She made both places sound so cool – I can't wait to check them out."

"Well if you're allocated to her, you'll be at her mercy. Where she goes, you'll go."

"I know. She's already planning to honeymoon in France, so Paris is looking good," I laughed.

"Honeymoon? Is she that serious with the Ozera lad?" Mom asked with pursed lips. "They're very young…"

"Yeah. I think they'll marry sooner rather than later. He's good for her. It's been hard for her since her family died. They were really tight."

Mom didn't say anything for a moment.

"Yes. They were a wonderful family. Rhea was a very caring woman, and I shouldn't have said what I did about her the other day," Mom owned quietly. "I didn't mean what I said."

"Ok," I said tightly, declaring the topic closed. But in my mind, I thought she hadn't insulted Rhea with her words. The insults had been aimed at me.


	18. Chapter 18

"So I had an interesting chat with Tasha yesterday," Lissa said. It was 7 pm in Pennsylvania, and Liss was lying on her bed. She was already dressed and ready for school, so she'd taken a chance I'd be free to chat.

It was 5 pm here, and I'd just come back from a hike to the cabin and was hiding in my room. In other words perfect timing.

"Oh? What about?" I tried to keep my voice interested and polite. While I couldn't stand scar face, she was still Christian's aunt and the closest thing my best friend had to a mother-in-law. I knew it would piss Lissa if I dissed her.

"She's been so moody ever since I arrived," Lissa confessed. "At first I thought it was me, but Christian spoke to her, and she said it isn't. Anyway, yesterday I found out what it is! She's got a thing for Guardian Belikov, and she wants me to request a different second Guardian when I graduate so he can guard her instead."

I'd never been so glad the bond was one way because Lissa would shout at me for a month for using the sort of language I was thinking about Tasha just then. Seriously couldn't that woman just _give up?_

"Wow. That's a big ask," I said as neutrally as I could.

"I know, but she really likes him," Lissa said with a sigh. "I wouldn't want to stand in their way if that's what they want…"

"Ask him," I butted in.

"Pardon?"

"It's his life and work, too. He deserves a say," I said with a little more force than was probably necessary.

"Oh, I will of course," Lissa assured me, recognizing I was unhappy with the idea. "And I wanted to get your thoughts on it, too. I know you work closely together and I wouldn't change out your guarding partner without discussing it with you."

I calmed down a little.

"So you haven't said yes?"

I knew it was wrong, but I needed a read on this, so I slipped into her head and probed a bit. No, she hadn't said yes, but she'd been contemplating it. However, my reaction had made her appreciate she needed to consult Dimitri before making any decisions.

"No. I said I'd think about it," Lissa admitted. "I guess I'd only thought about it from Tasha's point of view. You're right – I need to check it's what Guardian Belikov wants, too."

"It would be the kind thing to do," I told her. "Guardians don't always get a lot of say in where they work, but he's been good to both of us. Would you let him guard someone else if that's what he wanted?"

"Well I'd be sorry to see him go, but as you said – he's been good to us, and I wouldn't want to force him to stay if he wanted to guard someone else."

I smiled. Hopefully, Lissa would still feel the same way when we asked her to release Dimitri so he could guard Christian.

"So how's fire boy?" I asked, deftly changing the subject.

"Don't call him that, Rose," Lissa said wearily. "And he's ok." There was a note of hesitation in her voice.

"Out with it," I ordered. I knew when Lissa wasn't being fully honest about something.

She sighed. "It's just some of the Royals at school are funny with him. Because of his parents."

I said a word that made Lissa immediately tell me off, although I could tell via the bond she actually thought it rather appropriate given the context.

"It's not his fault. He can't help what they did!" I said crossly. I didn't usually defend Christian, but in this case, it was warranted! And I knew Lissa agreed.

"We can't wait to graduate and get away from Court. Her Majesty has confirmed I can still go to Lehigh, so he's planning on coming with me."

"Ohh! Will you live together?" I asked, my heart speeding up.

"I'm not sure. I'd _like_ to," she said. "It would make it easier to guard us if we lived together," she justified.

"Oh stop lying, Lissa Dragomir! I've known you since you were _five!_ You just want fire boy all to yourself, and it has nothing to do with the guarding rosters," I teased.

"Shut up, Rose," she snapped, a little embarrassed - but only because she knew I was right!

"So what's going on there? Anything exciting?" she asked, trying to divert me.

"Yes and no. Nothing I can tell you about," I said with a sigh. "Although Alto lost his cool big time yesterday at Blake," I said with a giggle. "Blake said something about Stan's age and only having two molnija and a zvezda, and Alto hit the roof! Mom had to separate the two of them."

Mom had sent them to opposite ends of the house to cool off. It had been funny as hell, and all was not yet forgiven; they'd been glowering at each other all day, much to my amusement. This living so closely together was getting to us all.

"How's it going with your mother?" Lissa queried, her thoughts going in the same direction as mine.

"Ok… She's managed to go two days without being a bitch. It must be some sort of a record."

"Can't you just _try_ to get along with her?" Lissa suggested reasonably.

"You know me! I've been a perfect angel," I said defensively.

"Suuuuuure you have!" she laughed.

* * *

"Are you all packed?" asked a voice I'd know anywhere as its owner walked through the open door to my room.

"I am," I said, suppressing a shiver. It was Saturday morning, and we were about to make the drive to Sheridan. We couldn't check in to the hotel until 2 pm, but we were heading in early. Eddie and Meredith wanted to catch an 11 am session at the movies, and Mom was coming in the second SUV to do the grocery shopping and return to the property. Originally we were going to bring supplies back with us on Sunday, but we were running low on several critical items, so Mom and Dimitri were going to grocery shop while we Novices were at the movies.

At least that's where Dimitri thought I was going to be. Abe had replied to my text, and via a series of messages over the last week we'd agreed to meet for lunch today in Sheridan. He'd contacted me half an hour ago to confirm he'd made it into town and suggested we meet at an all day diner at eleven. I was honestly shitting myself, but since no one else knew I'd be meeting my father for the first time today, I was trying to hold it together.

"We won't be able to stay together tonight," my Russian God whispered quietly, standing close behind me. "But if we get a chance, I thought we could go for a drive? Maybe find somewhere… private?"

I shivered again. It had been too long since we'd had the opportunity for more than a quick stolen kiss. My body ached to be held by him. More, if it were in any way possible.

"I can't wait," I moaned, already imagining the things I could do to him, and the things he might want to do to me.

"Nearly half way there," he said encouragingly. It took me a moment to figure out what he meant. We'd been here almost six weeks. Another six weeks and I'd be somewhere getting ready to take my trials. A week or so after that, I'd be graduating and making my promise.

"Not long now," I said.

"Not long," he agreed.

We weren't just talking about graduation. We were also talking about the time when we could be open about being together.

I wondered whether I should tell him what Lissa had told me about Tasha still wanting him to be her guardian. He needed to know, but I didn't want to stress him out when we wouldn't have the opportunity to discuss it straight away. I'd talk to him about it tonight when we had the chance to speak privately and without interruption.

He lifted my duffel and carried it downstairs with his own, throwing them both into the rear of one of the SUVs.

"Rosemarie? Would you like to drive and I'll second today?" my mother offered, lifting her chin toward the second SUV. I'd wanted to second for Dimitri, but she'd be offended if I turned her down, so I accepted.

"Meet you out the front of the cinema?" I asked Dimitri who nodded as Eddie climbed into the passenger seat beside him. Meredith shot me an apologetic glance as she climbed in behind the guys, leaving Mom and me to drive the forty minutes alone together.

Other than the obligatory pre-drive checks, we didn't speak until I guided the vehicle onto the main road. While the road was a little windy, the curves were gentle enough and the road all but deserted.

"Elizaveta asked to speak with me yesterday," Mom said, looking at me sideways as I kept my eyes focused on the road.

"Oh?" I replied, not reacting other than gripping the steering wheel a little more tightly.

"Yes. She wanted to speak with me about an 'inappropriate relationship' she thinks is happening within the house."

"What?" I said, raising my eyebrows in what I hope would pass for incredulous surprise.

"I'm going to ask you once and once only. Is there anything going on between you and the Castile boy?"

"Eddie?!" I gasped, looking at my mother for a moment before I started laughing. "Mom I can promise you on anything you want, there's _nothing_ other than friendship between Eddie and I."

"She says you've been taking runs and disappearing to 'chat' together a lot?"

I had to hand it to Mom, she was actually being pretty fair, and level headed about this.

"That's true. It's like I told you - he's freaked out about graduating, Mom. He was taken hostage at Spokane and again in the attack on the school. It's rattled him, and he's not sure he has what it takes to be a Guardian. I've been talking to him about it, and so has Dimitri."

"And you're _sure_ that's all there is to it?" she asked leadingly.

"Mom, I see him as a brother, and I know he feels the same way about me," I reassured her. "I want to be there for him as he works his way through this, but if it makes you more comfortable, I'll make sure Dimitri is there when we talk, too?"

"I think that would be prudent," Mom agreed. "It hasn't escaped my notice that Elizaveta doesn't particularly like you. I get the feeling she's looking for an excuse to get you in trouble…" She was fishing.

"It's because of Artyom," I explained. "She didn't like it when he showed me attention, but now I've told him I'm not interested, she thinks I think I'm too good for him, so she dislikes me even more. It doesn't help that I'm besting her more often than not when we fight, too."

I was being modest. Elizaveta had only bettered me a handful of times over the last few weeks, and I was taking a perverse pleasure in flattening her every chance I got.

"Well, we're half way there," Mom said, echoing Dimitri's words from back at the house. "Maybe less."

"Less?"

"Other than that group of Strigoi that didn't make it this far south, there's been no sign of Strigoi in the vicinity. We'll stay until the Alchemists inform her Majesty we're no longer required, but if Strigoi haven't returned by now, it seems unlikely they'll do so," Mom reasoned. "I'll be calling Court over the weekend to let them know."

"So what happens then?" I asked curiously.

"You Novices will be sent to Academies to continue preparing for your trials, and Alto, Belikov and I will return to our usual duties."

"So St. Vlad's for Alto, and Court with Lissa for Dimitri?"

"Yes, I expect so."

"Where will you go?"

"I'm not sure. Lord Szelsky is still vacationing with family at Court. He's well protected there, so I'm not needed for the time being. I'll probably be given a temporary assignment until he's ready to return home."

I nodded in understanding. As a guardian, her life was not her own. Mom could end up anywhere.

The silence was getting awkward, so I switched on the radio, finding only a couple of stations; one playing country music and the other hits of the 80s. My Russian God would be thrilled, I thought, my lip twitching at the thought of it. Deciding 80s music was the lesser of two evils, I settled on that station, listening to a song about 'Sweet Dreams.' What surprised me was my mother humming along.

"Never picked you as an 80s fan," I laughed.

"I used to listen to these hits in my room each night when I was a girl," she said.

"Tell me about it?" I asked, trying to get anything at all out of her.

"There's not much to tell," she said. "My father bought me a portable radio for my birthday one year. Every night I'd turn it on low and listen to the 'hit parade.' I fancied myself as a bit of a singer."

"And then...?"

"And then I went to St. Christopher's and started my training to be a Guardian," she said tightly, turning up the radio to indicate our conversation was at an end.

* * *

I pulled up in front of the cinema, my stomach churning with nerves. The diner was only a few doors up from the movies, and I wondered whether Abe was already there? We'd agreed to meet there at eleven, and it was only a few minutes before then, now. I seriously wished I hadn't agreed to this.

Dimitri parked the other vehicle in a spot just up from the theatre. Eddie and Meredith piled out, followed by my Russian God. Even the way he stepped out of the car was elegant, and a sight to behold. I was daydreaming when he opened the car door for me. I climbed out of the driver's seat, passing him the keys.

"I'll meet you back here in two and a half hours," he said giving me an unreadable look. "I'll do the shopping with your mother, and then we can all grab some lunch and check in to the hotel."

"Great," I said, giving him and Mom a smile before they drove off toward the supermarket.

Eddie and Meredith were about to head in to buy tickets when I stopped.

"You guys go ahead. I want to do some shopping while you watch the movie," I lied unconvincingly.

Eddie stared at me giving me a 'really?' look.

"I'll meet you back here in a couple of hours. Enjoy!" I said, dashing away before they could ask me anything else.

Back out on the street, I quickly checked my reflection in the shop fronts. I pulled my hair out from the hair tie and rolled my shoulders, trying to stand up straight and look confident, even though I was freaking out more with every passing second. Plastering on a smile, I walked across to the diner and opened the door.

And there was my father. He was standing with two other men, trying to decide where to sit in the surprisingly full diner. I could recognize Guardians anywhere, even without seeing their promise marks, and it made sense a powerful Moroi would be traveling with at least one Guardian, even in daylight. These two looked skilled; the one with his back to me had a large number of molnija – easily twenty.

The older of his two Guardians spotted me first but said nothing as I walked across to the man who was undoubtedly my other parent.

"Abe?" I said hesitantly, his brown eyes snapping up to meet mine.

The second Guardian turned and regarded me warily, but Abe's expression was tender but nervous.

"Rose…" he whispered, his eyes exploring my face, hair and then my figure.

In person, I could see the resemblance more than ever, and apparently so could he.

"How about we take a seat?" the older of his Guardians suggested. Our impromptu staring competition was starting to attract interested looks from the humans in the diner.

"Yes, let's," Abe said, snapping to attention. There were only two adjacent booths left, both in the front window. Abe led me to one, gesturing for me to sit on one side of the table as he sat on the other. He took my hand in his as his Guardians seated themselves in the adjacent booth, closest to the door, their eyes roaming the diner the entire time.

"Thank you for coming," I said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.

"I'd wondered… It seemed far fetched, but now I see you…" he said, still staring a little.

"Yes. I can see it, too," I admitted nervously, referring to how similar we looked.

"I'm sorry," he said pulling himself together. "It's still all a bit of a surprise!"

"To me, too," I admitted with an uneasy laugh.

"Tell me everything," he asked with an encouraging smile. "I've missed your whole life, so start at the beginning."

So I did. I didn't know why, but I trusted him absolutely, so I told him about being dropped at the Academy, growing up there, my friendship with Lissa. I told him about dying, being bonded, running away, being brought back again, about Spokane and Mason, the attack on the Academy and finally coming here on a mission.

Abe sat spellbound through my tale, interrupting only to order food for us both.

"So how did you find out I was your father?" he asked.

"Well… Have you heard of the Alchemists?" I replied.

"Yes…?" His brow furrowed trying to guess where I was heading with this.

"I broke into one of their facilities and did a computer search for the registration of my birth. They had a copy of the original forms, and Mom had listed you there as my father. Then I searched for you, and as soon as I saw the photo, I knew she was right."

"You broke into an _Alchemist's facility?"_ Abe hissed, amusement dancing in those eyes so very similar to my own.

"Yes. But Mom can't ever find out about it! She'll have me off this mission and charged if she ever finds out!" I cautioned, albeit with a grin.

"Your secret's safe with me," Abe said with a chuckle, shaking his head at my antics.

"Enough about me… I want to know about you. Other than a couple of addresses in Turkey and Russia and your phone number I know nothing," I said, trying to build bridges with my male parent.

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything. _Everything!_ Why don't you tell me about your background and what you do? And how you and Mom met? She's never said anything at all, other than you met in Bucharest?"

"Yes that's right," he started, playing with the chips in front of him as he started telling me his life story.

We'd finished our meals, and I was starting in on an ice cream sundae, by the time Abe got to the part about my mother.

"… so her first words to me were, 'I hope you don't expect me to clean that up? I'm here to look after one rich, indulged Moroi; I'm not going to clean up after another!'"

"Mom said that? To a Moroi!?" I demanded in disbelief. Mom was always going on about politeness and courtesy to Moroi. It was hard to imagine a time when she might have been more feisty. More like _me!_

"Oh yes! Your mother had quite the temper, back then, and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind," he said with a chuckle. "I used to enjoy baiting her! She was so quick to anger – it usually only took me a couple of words, and she'd be flying off the handle! Is she still like that?" he asked, looking up to see a horrified expression on my face as I stared out the window.

"I think you're about to find out," I whispered. There, standing on the other side of the plate glass, staring at Abe and me with an expression as fiery as her hair, was an incensed Janine Hathaway standing beside an almost as furious Dimitri Belikov.


	19. Chapter 19

"Mom?" I said apprehensively as she stormed into the diner, the bell on the door jingling angrily in her wake. She approached our table, standing with her hands on her hips in front of Abe and me where we were seated.

"Janine!" Abe said, standing and plastering a huge smile on his face. "What a delightful surprise! You haven't changed a bit!"

My mother looked at Abe as though she'd willing rip his head off without a second thought. She turned and faced me, her expression angrier than I had ever seen her.

"I should have known! The questions! The sudden interest! You're behind this, aren't you?!" she growled, causing half the diner to turn and stare at us.

Abe's Guardians were up and trying to insinuate themselves between my mother and our table, and Dimitri was right behind Mom, ready to pull her back from us if that was what was required.

"Why don't we take this outside?" Abe suggested with gritted teeth, throwing some money on to our table and the one at which his Guardians had been seated. "The humans don't need to hear this," he hissed under his breath, appealing to my mother's professional side.

She gave a single nod; her jaw tensed as the six of us left the diner, walking out onto the street. As soon as we were outside, she spun to face Abe.

"What are you doing here?!"

"I wanted to see Rose," he said, giving me an encouraging smile.

There was silence for a moment - my mother was flummoxed! My eyes met Dimitri's, and he was looking confused and alarmed.

"Abe," my mother warned, her voice low and threatening, "whatever you think you're doing here, you need to leave."

"Thanks for the advice, Janine, but I'll go wherever I want," he growled, stepping closer to me. Dimitri saw his movement and mirrored it, moving defensively to put his body between Abe and me. The two men regarded one another uneasily.

"Abe Mazur," my father said, holding his hand out to my Russian God.

I could see the wheels turn in Dimitri's head. He wasn't sure what was going on, but in the end, his good manners won out.

"Guardian Dimitri Belikov," my love declared in his most formal, dispassionate voice, meeting Abe's hand with his own.

"Abe is… an old friend," my mother offered, her lips stumbling over the final words.

"Abe is my _father,"_ I rebutted, meeting my mother's eyes firmly for the first time since her arrival.

"Your _father?"_ Dimitri gasped, his eyes almost bugging out of his head.

"There's nothing to prove that," my mother squealed in alarm.

"I'm sure a DNA test could clear things up quickly enough," Abe announced laconically, raising a lackadaisical eyebrow at my mother.

"I won't agree to it," she said smugly.

"Rose is eighteen, Janine - and I was some time ago. We don't _need_ your permission. Not for a DNA test _or_ to get to know one another. The cat's out of the bag. I don't know why you kept Rose's existence from me all this time, but I know, now."

My mother's face fell as the truth of his words sunk in.

"How did you find him?" my mother shrieked, turning her anger toward me again. "You have no right to force this on me!"

"Leave her alone," Abe growled furiously, causing even my enraged mother to pause. _"I_ found _her!_ I met one of her classmates in Russia. They were telling me how the Academy had been attacked and how a Novice, Rosemarie Hathaway, got molnija being part of the defense. I recognized the surname and then did the math. I didn't think she'd be mine, but I did a little digging out of curiosity. As soon as I saw a photo of her I knew. Which is why I am here. She _is_ mine, isn't she?"

Abe must have been paying attention to come up with such a believable lie on the spot. If I didn't know better - that I had tracked him down - I would have believed his assertion that that was the way it had happened.

My mother flicked her head dismissively, refusing to answer his question.

"Janine," he said in a low, threatening voice. "I will know one way or another. I always do. I'll ask you again – is Rosemarie my daughter?"

"Yes," my mother shouted, throwing her hands up in defeat. "And you're welcome to her!"

Abe's eyes widened, while my own dropped to the ground.

"I never wanted this. I never wanted to be a mother! It's alright for you. You got to live your life in blissful ignorance, but for me, that night changed everything!" she continued. "I was left holding the baby."

"No," Abe said forcefully, pointing his finger at her in anger. "You don't get to blame me for not being part of something _I didn't know about."_

I couldn't believe my parents were screaming at each other in the middle of the sidewalk. It was humiliating.

"Can you two just _stop?"_ I begged. "Maybe we could go back to the hotel and talk _privately?"_ I suggested, gesturing to the passersby who had stopped to stare at our group.

"No!" my mother shouted. "I'm done! I never wanted this, and I never wanted _you!_ I wish I'd never had you! I'm going back to the property, and I don't care _where_ you go." She turned and walked to the SUV packed with groceries, taking off with a squeal of tires.

That's when the tears I'd been trying to hold back started flowing down my cheeks. Abe turned and was about to open his arms to me, but Dimitri got there first, pulling me into his embrace and holding me as I sobbed. One huge hand stroked my hair, the other holding me firmly against him, giving me his love and strength. No one had ever been able to hurt me as badly as my mother, and this was the worst time yet.

The five of us stood in silence, and then Eddie and Meredith were walking towards our group from the cinema.

"Everything ok?" Eddie asked Dimitri, eyeing Abe and his Guardians warily.

"Rose and Guardian Hathaway have had a disagreement," Dimitri said diplomatically, ever the master of understatement. "How about we go check into the hotel? I think Rose could use an hour or two to calm down."

Meredith nodded, and Dimitri pulled the keys to the SUV out of his duster, opening the car remotely and giving Meredith and Eddie a look to get into the vehicle.

"Mr. Mazur, we'll be staying at America's Best Value Inn on East Fifth Street," Dimitri continued, his arms still protectively wrapped around me. "The rooms will be under my name, and we'll be there until 10 am tomorrow."

Abe was nodding with understanding and gave me a small smile as I peeked out from Dimitri's chest.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't think she'd see us together."

"You have nothing to apologize for. Guardian Belikov is right. Why don't you get settled into your hotel - I can come by in a couple of hours, and we can talk more if you'd like?" he offered.

"Ok," I said giving him a shy look.

Before I knew it, Dimitri had me bundled into the back of the car next to Meredith, and we were on our way to the hotel.

"Sorry guys," I said in the car as Dimitri drove in silence, a vein in his forehead throbbing with agitation. "That Moroi guy is my father, and Mom flipped out when she saw us together."

"Your father?" Eddie gasped, swinging around in the passenger seat to look at me.

"Yep."

"That's big," Meredith said, grasping my hand and stroking it soothingly.

"He's going to come to the hotel later so we can talk," I explained. "I have so many questions."

"I'd like to be there when you speak with him," Dimitri said suddenly, looking ill at ease. "I know he's your father, but by your own admission, you don't know anything about him."

I shrugged. I was too tired to fight Dimitri on this.

"Eddie? How about you and I share a room tonight? That will give Rose and Guardian Belikov privacy to meet with Rose's Dad," Meredith thoughtfully suggested.

"Works for me. I just want to order pizza and watch TV anyway," Eddie agreed as we pulled into the hotel's forecourt.

I thought for sure Dimitri would disagree, but he said nothing as he left the engine idling, stepping into the office to check us in. He was gone ages, so while he was gone, I cut to the chase.

"Meredith knows about Dimitri and me, too," I said wearily to Eddie. "She guessed."

"That's a relief! I thought you were a bit too keen to share a room with me," he joked amiably with Meredith.

We all shut up as Dimitri came back to the vehicle.

"Thanks for offering to share a room tonight," he said formally to Eddie and Meredith. "Given the circumstances, I think it's sensible I'm there when Rose speaks with her father."

Dimitri brought the car around into the court, parking outside room fifteen.

"You two are in fifteen. Rose, you and I are upstairs in twenty-six," he announced, grabbing my bag and his from the trunk, locking the vehicle when Eddie and Meredith had done likewise. He handed Meredith their room key and then muttered, "Come on, Rose."

I followed him up the stairs and into our room. While it also had two beds, it was much nicer than the double I'd stayed in with Meredith and Mom. Dimitri put our bags down and turned to face me.

"I'll tell you all in a little while," I promised, still feeling teary. "Right now can you just hold me?" I pleaded.

* * *

We must have fallen asleep because I woke to find myself curled up in Dimitri's strong arms. His breath was on the back of my neck as we lay spooned in the middle of one of the beds.

Even though I had cried myself to sleep, I was happy to be waking in my love's embrace. I turned in his arms, looking up at his beautiful face.

"How are you feeling, Roza?" he asked, woken by my movement.

"Hmm… better now," I said, leaning up and kissing the underside of his jaw.

He brought his lips to mine and together we shared a soft, delicate kiss.

"We've been asleep a couple of hours. Your father will be here, soon. Before he arrives, I'd like you to tell me everything," he said raising an eyebrow at me. He knew there was more to the story than I'd let on.

"I called him," I admitted. "That's why I broke into the main house. I applied for a copy of my birth certificate from Court, but he wasn't listed on it. I tried to get a copy of the original registration of birth forms, but I can't because I'm not a signatory. So I broke into the Alchemists' to see if they had a copy, and they did. Mom had named him on the application. I looked up Abe on the Alchemists' computer system, and there was a phone number for him. I thought about it for a few days, and then I rang him. We talked and then he came to meet me."

Dimitri was stunned.

" _That's_ why you broke into the house?" he mumbled, muttering a few choice words in Russian.

"I needed to know, Dimitri! You've seen Mom! She won't tell me _anything._ You heard her - she doesn't want anything to do with me. She didn't want me then, and she doesn't want me now. You're not too angry?"

He didn't say anything, just pulled me to him again, shaking his head.

"So what has your father told you about himself? What does he do for a living?"

"He's a business man. He said he works mostly in Europe but also a bit in the States."

"What does he _do?_ " he asked knowingly.

"I'm not sure. I'll ask when he comes over," I said defensively, not liking Dimitri's tone.

"Rose? I know you're excited about meeting your father, but maybe try and approach this cautiously? You don't know him. I'm not saying don't _get_ to know him, but maybe hold back a little? Just until you get a sense of who he is?"

"You're just as bad as Mom," I snapped, pulling back from him. "I _know_ I don't know him and I'm not an idiot – I will hold back a bit. But so far he's been a lot more interested in me than my mother has ever been. He knows about me for a fortnight, and he's flown half way across the world to meet me! Sorry if I'm just a little bit excited that one of my parents has some sort of interest in me!" I growled, rolling off the bed.

"Roza?" Dimitri said beseechingly. "Don't be angry. I just don't want to see you hurt…"

"I know, I know," I grumbled. "I can't help but be excited. It's different for you. I know your Dad was an asshole, but you've always had your Mom. I've finally got a parent who seems to want to get to know me, at least a little bit. Don't ruin that for me."

I brushed past him and grabbed my bag.

"I'm going to have a shower."

I closed the bathroom door, turning on the taps in the shower and getting undressed. Standing under the warm water, I closed my eyes, replaying my mother's words in my head.

I'd known for a long time I was unwanted. Yeah, it hurt to hear her say it, but there were no surprises there. Not really. I _had_ been surprised when Abe lied for me – trying to preserve the almost non-existent relationship I had with my mother. It was an unexpected kindness. After all – two weeks ago he didn't even know I existed.

I took my time in the shower, my mind wandering to my father but then Dimitri. We had a night alone together in a hotel room. Our interrupted intimacy at the property had only held me over for so long. I was yearning for a night of passion and love with my man, and despite his words of abstinence and waiting until I graduated, I knew he was feeling the same way.

Turning off the water, I stepped out onto the bathmat, digging in my bag to find my moisturizer, I was applying the creme to my legs when I heard a knock at the hotel room's door, and then my father's voice.

"Belikov," he greeted tightly. "The Novices downstairs said Rose was staying in this room? Where is she?"

"She's in the shower. Come in," my Russian God intoned. Abe might not be able to hear it, but my man was nervous. "Can I get you a tea or coffee while you're waiting?"

"No, thank you. So, Belikov? How long have you and my daughter been sleeping together?"

"I don't know what you mean," Dimitri denied instantly.

"Son? Don't bullshit a bullshitter. You were ready to rip my head off if I upset her, and the second she burst into tears you had her in your arms, and I could tell she wanted to be there. Those are the actions of a couple in love," Abe declared with confidence.

I could hear Dimitri's sigh.

"I might be new on the scene, but I'm still her father," Abe said in a decidedly threatening tone.

"I _do_ love her," Dimitri admitted, "and she loves me. But we can't do anything about it until she graduates. Officially, I'm her mentor, and she's still a student. As much as I want to declare to the world that I'm her man, we have to wait."

"Well I'm going to give you a suggestion, here - sharing a hotel room together might give the game away," Abe said with a sarcastic chuckle.

"I know," Dimitri snapped. "But she's upset, and I thought it prudent to be here when you talked…" my love explained.

I'd now given up any pretense of moisturizing, and was standing behind the door eavesdropping shamelessly!

"So you're Russian. I assume you know who I am?"

"Zmey," Dimitri said, with what sounded like reluctance.

"Have you told her?" Abe demanded.

"No. But you should."

"How?" It was Abe's voice, but his tone had changed. He sounded perplexed. "She'll run a mile!"

"Mr. Mazur, Rose is one of the most caring people I've ever met. She'll forgive those she loves just about anything. My advice is to be open and honest with her. Let her get to know the real you. She deserves that. You've seen how things are between her and her mother. If you want to be involved in her life, don't lie to her."

"I _do_ want to get to know her," Abe agreed, sounding nervous.

"Then be yourself. She wants to accept you, and for you to accept her."

I could tell when Dimitri said 'accept her' he really meant 'accept us.'

"It doesn't bother me," Abe declared suddenly. "You and her. I've only known about my daughter a couple of weeks, but I want her to be happy. As long as she's happy and you treat her how she deserves to be treated, I have no problem with the two of you. Of course, if you don't treat her right, or make her unhappy, it's going to be a different story," he said menacingly. "So keep a smile on her face…"

Dimitri said something, but it was too soft to catch through the door. Deciding I'd heard enough, I threw on some clothes, swept my hair up into a messy bun and opened up the door.

"Dimitri! You should have told me Abe was here," I said, walking across to my father. "I hope you haven't been waiting long. I'm sorry again about before. It's all been a bit of a shock."

"That's fine. I've just been getting to know your young man, here," he said with only slightly forced joviality. "Why don't you tell me how you and he got together," he suggested, just putting it right out there.

Knowing he already knew, I mumbled "It didn't take you long to pick that," pulling over one of the two armchairs, offering Abe a seat while Dimitri took the other. I sat on the end of one of the beds, Abe on one side, Dimitri on the other. I grabbed my love's huge hand; then I told my father the sanitized version of our love story. I left out the more prurient aspects, but I was as honest as I could be without revealing anything too damning.

I watched Dimitri as I told our tale, and while he kept his face impassive, with my lover's eyes, I could see he was nervous.

"Between the breaking into an Alchemist's facility and falling in love with your teacher, I think it's safe to say you take after me more than your mother," Abe said with a wicked grin. No, I didn't imagine it – he looked proud.

Dimitri rolled his eyes at me indulgently.

"You're not upset? About Dimitri and me?" I asked.

"It's not my place to interfere in your life, Rose. Besides, Belikov knows who I am. He's not going to hurt you."

"Knows who you are?"

It was Abe's turn to look nervous.

"Rose, I need to tell you a bit more about myself. And in particular my line of work…"


	20. Chapter 20

"So my father is a mob boss…" I said out loud, trying the idea on for size.

Abe had left half an hour ago. He'd stayed for dinner – we'd ordered pizza, and he'd invited his Guardian, Pavel, inside to eat with us – and he'd told me about his business interests. I got the feeling if I'd told him the sanitized version of my relationship with Dimitri, he'd done the same with his description of his occupation – which was frightening given what he had told me was already pretty confronting.

"He is," Dimitri confirmed, looking much more relaxed now my father had left.

He was sitting on the bed we'd slept on earlier, leaning up against the bedhead. It was still relatively early, but it had been a huge day. He patted the bed beside him, opening his arms up to me. I clambered onto the bed, snuggling in against him. We held each other gently letting the events of today soak in.

"So Eddie knows about us, and now your father does, too," Dimitri sighed.

"And Meredith," I added. "She was at the caves and guessed when I head-butted Stan. She only just told me."

Dimitri swore softly.

"Rose… We can't afford to be caught. If Eddie and Meredith know, it's only a matter of time before the others catch on. Artyom still watches you like a hawk, even if he isn't trying anything on. And Elizaveta would like nothing better than a chance to bring you down."

"I know. Mom spoke to me on the way here. Elizaveta went to talk to her. She thinks I have something going on with Eddie."

"Castile?" Dimitri laughed.

"Yeah. She's seen Eddie and I go off a few times to talk. Mom also said the mission here might be winding up. There's no indication Strigoi are returning."

Neither of us spoke after that. We both knew if the mission were wound up, I'd be going to an academy somewhere and Dimitri would return to Court to be with Lissa. If anything, that made tonight even more precious.

Our kisses were light and sweet. It wasn't like our first time, where passion had taken over. This time we were taking our time, savoring the chance to explore and delight one another.

Running the tip of his nose along my neck, following it with closed mouth kisses, Dimitri reached my ear, whispering words of love in Russian and English; telling me he loved me, that I was beautiful. That I was _his._ I couldn't stop a smile blessing my lips when I heard that. I _was_ his! And he was mine. No one was going to change that.

Peeling his shirt off, then grabbing mine at the sides in order to follow, he rolled off the bed, taking off his pants and leaving him in boxers. I turned to the other side of the bed doing likewise, removing my jeans as well as my bra. He pulled down the bedclothes, lying in the middle of the bed and waiting for me to rejoin him. I did, and he pulled the covers back over us, creating a warm, soft space for us to share. Our kisses continued, my arms wrapped around his neck teasing his hair tie from his deep brown chin length hair.

"You're so handsome," I complimented as his dark strands fell forward, brushing his chin.

"Thank you, ангел. You're very beautiful."

And that was the last we said for some time; the air filled with soft sighs and moans as our bodies became reacquainted with one another. His skin was smooth and warm as I pushed myself against him, relishing the feel of our bodies so close together. I wanted to explore every part of him. Even though we'd made out and made love before, this was different. I wanted to get to know every part of my man. So I let my hands and lips wander, kissing and caressing everywhere I could reach, as he did likewise.

I was mewling desperately, Dimitri's lips attached to one of my breasts when he finally peeled my panties off. Finding his boxers with my feet, I reciprocated, pulling them down his legs before he kicked them off somewhere in the bedclothes. Rolling on top of me, it was only a second or two later when he groaned "Roza!" as he pushed himself inside.

We'd both waited so long to do this again. While Dimitri had undoubtedly been the more restrained of us, that he wanted this as much as I did was now indisputable.

I was on my back, Dimitri nestled between my thighs. Just like last time, our bodies seemed to fit together perfectly – two puzzle pieces sculpted to work only with each other. He started with a couple of long, slow strokes – rocking back and forth until I could take all of him. I gasped in excitement, little hisses becoming louder moans as he started moving in and out, creating a delectable friction.

He snaked one arm beneath me, still buried deep within my cleft as he lifted my hips, pushing a doubled up pillow beneath my butt. Resting my hips back onto the pillow he started rocking in and out of me again. If before was good, now it was ten times better! The tip of his cock kept hitting that magical spot inside that felt so amazing before sliding deeper inside me, filling me completely. The combination of the two feelings was exquisite and driving me crazy.

Pulling back from me slightly, Dimitri looked into my eyes – a smoldering gaze filled with love and joy. I gave him my best man-eater smile, leaning my head up to push my lips against his. We kissed until I had to pull my lips away in order to breathe. But he didn't stop – he continued his hips' relentless pace, his lips at my ear again thrilling me with every sexy noise he uttered.

I was gripping Dimitri's biceps, nuzzling the side of my head against his as he nipped my shoulder, the pace of his movements starting to get faster. It was different to how it felt last time but still wonderful. Actually, this time I wasn't so nervous, and I had more of a clue what to do, which made it even better.

"Are you close?" he moaned breathlessly. His voice was strained and I knew he must be holding back to let me cum first.

"Yes," I groaned. "Very." He sped up, even more, causing my moans to turn into one long wail.

I splintered beneath him, running my nails down his back and resting my hands on his ass as he moved three or four times more inside me. His lips at my ear, he moaned "Roza…" repeatedly before slumping on top of me with a shudder, his manhood releasing inside my channel.

I could feel the tension leaving his body and after a few moments, he pulled out of me, rolling us over, so he was lying on his back. I was draped against his chest and secure in his arms. We lay there panting together, satiated and complete.

"You look happy," Dimitri laughed, taking in my completely blissed-out expression.

"I am," I confirmed, leaning up to give him a kiss. "That," kiss, "was," kiss, "wonderful!"

"I aim to please," he replied with a little smirk, but I couldn't help but notice that he looked happier and more relaxed than he had in weeks. It just went to show – we needed to do _that_ more often!

"You do. Very much," I grinned giving him more kisses. "I'll have to let my father know!"

"Your father?" Dimitri asked, lifting an eyebrow quizzically.

"I heard him threatening you to keep a smile on my face. Well, I'm certainly smiling now!"

"Roza!" my Russian God growled in exasperation.

"You heard Abe. Your job is to keep me happy. In fact, I might need some more loving later just to keep my spirits up…"

"You're incorrigible," he groaned but with a smile.

"Shut it or I'll send my mob boss father after you!" I teased.

"I've created a monster!" he laughed, pulling a pillow over his head.

* * *

Waking up in Dimitri's arms had to be one of the best feelings in the world! I lay on my side just watching him sleep until I could no longer ignore the pressing need for the toilet. Carefully escaping his loving arms, I padded to the bathroom, wincing at the coldness of the tiled floor before sighing in relief as I emptied my bladder. I was a little tender downstairs, but that was probably to be expected. While round one of our lovemaking had been a sweet, loving reconnection, round two had been a bit more intense!

Creeping back into bed and rolling back into his arms, I rested my ear against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and marveling at the sheer size of the man who considered himself mine.

"Last night was the best night of my life," I whispered as I saw his eyelids start to flutter and a smile grace his face when he appreciated I was in his arms.

"Mine too," he said, kissing my hair.

We were still cuddling when Dimitri's cell rang. He groaned and I was hoping he was going to ignore it before he announced, "I'd better check – it could be important."

He rolled over, reaching an impossibly long arm across to his bedside, groaning a little when he saw 'Guardian Hathaway' flashing on the screen.

"Janine," he greeted cordially, pausing to listen to my mother.

"Ok. We'll check out at ten and probably eat lunch here before returning to the property. I imagine we'll be there around one."

My mother was saying more, and Dimitri was listening, watching me the whole time.

"As far as I know, she hasn't said anything to the other Novices, and I don't think she intends to."

He rang off, pulling me back to him in the bed.

"How did she sound?" I asked, dreading having to see my mother again today.

"Hard to say. She wants to meet with us all as soon as we get back. She asked if you'd told anyone about meeting your father."

"So we stick with the story?" I asked.

"I think that's for the best," he agreed.

It was 8 am, so we reluctantly got up and dressed, heading downstairs to the room where Eddie and Meredith had stayed.

"Breakfast?" Dimitri suggested only a little awkwardly when Meredith opened the door. She and Eddie were already dressed and watching cartoons on television.

"I could eat," Eddie said giving us a relaxed, easy smile as he looked up from the TV.

They locked up and we piled into the car, me climbing into the back and letting Meredith take second. We headed to a pancake place we'd spotted last time we were here.

Once we were installed in a booth eating mountains of pancakes smothered in butter, maple syrup and bacon, Dimitri cleared his throat to start. I could see he was nervous and didn't want to have this discussion, so I took the reigns.

"So thanks for last night, guys. I really needed to speak with my father and I did, which was great. My Mom is super unhappy I know who he is, so if we could maybe go with the story that you saw nothing, we came back to the hotel, ordered pizza and watched TV, that would be great."

"That _is_ what happened," Eddie teased.

"You know what I mean," I said giving him a death stare before dropping my hand to Dimitri's and stroking it soothingly for a moment. Both Eddie and Meredith looked a little surprised but didn't say anything, and I removed my hand before Dimitri could freak out even more.

"We got it," Meredith said giving Dimitri and I a tentative smile. "Rose and I shared two pizzas – one pepperoni one with the lot then settled in and watched TV. Nothing was said about your father and I have no idea something went down. Right?"

"That's right," I said with relief. Eddie could see how uneasy I was.

"Sure thing. Same deal for Belikov and I."

"Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. I'm sorry to have to ask this of you, but I'm trying to stop my Mom going psycho… again."

"It's all good. One crazy Hathaway is enough for the household to deal with!" Eddie teased. "So how did it go with your Dad?"

"Good, I think? He was really nice. He didn't know about me until very recently," I volunteered, "so there's a lot to catch up on. We're both playing it by ear, but he seems interested."

We all avoided acknowledging the other reason I'd stayed overnight with Dimitri, and I was grateful for it. They knew, and we knew they knew. Acknowledging it would be too much for my already vexed Russian God. The less said about our love affair the better, until I graduated.

"Rose's Mom wants us all at a meeting when we get back to the property," Dimitri announced as he threw some notes on the table to cover the bill. "I thought we could hang out at the hotel until 10, check out, and then kill a couple of hours in town?"

"Hey! We could go bowling!" Eddie suggested enthusiastically.

"Bowling?" I asked incredulously. Lissa and I had been a couple of times when we were on the run, but it wasn't the first thing that sprang to mind when I had a couple of hours off.

"Sure! It will be fun. And we're not likely to get another chance," he cajoled. "They'll probably have hot dogs there, and I _know_ how much you love them, Rose…"

Damn him! He was right! I loved hot dogs with cheese and mustard – and we _never_ got them at the Academy.

I looked at my Russian God and he shrugged. Meredith smiled and said, "I'm in."

"Alright… If you can find somewhere open. I'm going back to the hotel to watch TV until we check out. Then we can bowl," I said with a smile. Maybe bowling _would_ be fun?

The mood was lighthearted as we returned to the hotel. We split up, going back to our respective rooms, Dimitri wasting no time pulling me back into bed.

" _Again,_ Guardian Belikov?" I teased, laughing as I took off my clothes.

"I've missed being with you," he explained with a very sexy pout. "And there's no knowing when we'll have a chance to be together again."

"I know," I sighed, pressing myself against him and tangling our legs together. "Let's make the most of the time we have."

* * *

"You went _bowling?"_ Blake grumbled jealously as the four of us sat laughing at the kitchen table. It had been fun, and I had to hand it to Eddie, it had been just the thing to relax us before our trip back to the property.

"Sure did! Meredith and I _slaughtered_ the guys!" I declared triumphantly. "We _owned_ you two!"

"It's not _my_ fault. I just assumed Belikov could bowl," Eddie mock grumbled.

I laughed wickedly. Not only did Meredith and I share the dubious honor of being the victors, but I'd found something my Russian God sucked at. While he was a natural athlete at almost every other sport or physical activity, he was _hopeless_ at bowling. The guys hadn't stood a chance!

We'd not long been back, but Mom wanted us all to gather for our meeting, hence our presence at the kitchen table. She and I had successfully avoided one another, so far. I was happy to pretend yesterday just hadn't happened. Let's face it – no one wanted to dwell on the moment their mother announced they wished they'd never had you!

"I've been in touch with Court, and provided nothing untoward happens between now and then, we're pulling out next Saturday," she announced without preamble. "It now seems unlikely the Strigoi are going to return to this location, so the Alchemists are eager for us to depart."

This was obviously news to Stan because he looked as surprised as the rest of us.

"We'll be driving to St. Vladimir's to return the vehicles and equipment. We'll fly from there to Court to debrief, and then on to our final destinations."

"Do you know where they'll be sending us?" Eddie asked.

"Not yet – that's still being worked out," my mother said brusquely. "Although Elizaveta and Artyom will be returning to St. Basil's."

"Will we be at Court long?" Meredith asked hopefully. I wondered whether she was thinking of her boyfriend, Geoff.

"At least a few days. Perhaps up to a week," Mom replied.

After that, she ran us through the packup procedure, which basically consisted of going through the house and making sure it was as immaculate as when we arrived.

The meeting over, we all went our separate ways to unpack or attend to our afternoon chores. I kept expecting Mom to make an appearance in my room, but she didn't. In fact, she didn't say a word to me directly at dinner or afterward in the library. Dimitri excused himself after an hour or so, begging off to place a call to his family. I followed not long after, citing the need to call Lissa. I saw my mother purse her lips, probably suspecting I was going to call Abe, but she didn't make an issue of it.

In my room, I dialed my father's number. I'd promised to call him to let him know the aftermath, if any, from my mother about our meeting. I quickly filled him in that she'd said nothing, so far, but that we were pulling out bound for Court in a week.

"I have some business to attend to elsewhere, but I can arrange to be at Court when you visit," he suggested. "If you have time to see me, great. If not, then that's fine too. I don't want to make things worse between you and your mother."

I snorted. The woman had blatantly declared in the middle of a public street that she'd never wanted me. How much worse could things get?!

We chatted a little more before I rang Lissa, telling her that I'd probably be at Court next week.

"I can't wait to tell Christian! And Tasha will be so excited. If you're coming, so will Guardian Belikov, right?"

I mentally slapped myself. With all the drama about my father, I'd all but forgotten Tasha's ongoing interest in Dimitri.

"Please don't tell them," I begged quickly. "I'm not even meant to tell you. Secret mission and all that…"

"No problem, your secret is safe with me," she promised, and I could tell by quickly sampling through the bond that she meant it.

"I can't wait to show you around Court, though," she said. "We didn't get a chance to see much, last time."

"That sounds great, Liss," I said in what I hope passed for an enthusiastic tone. While getting away from here was certainly appealing, leaving meant I'd be going to an academy somewhere and Dimitri would be living under Tasha's roof and subject to her attempts to coax him to stay with her. I had faith in _him_ ; it was her I didn't trust!

By the time I'd finished my calls, the others were already going to bed. I tossed and turned for ages, trying to get sleepy, but finding it hard. Last night in Dimitri's arms had been so perfect; it sucked to be back alone in a single bed.

I turned my pillow vertically, wrapping my arms around it and pretending it was my Russian God. It was a far from a convincing facsimile, but somewhere close to midnight I finally drifted off – fantasizing of Dimitri's sexy, manly body pressed against mine, joined once again in original sin.


	21. Chapter 21

While it was impossible for my mother to completely ignore me over the next week, she gave it her best shot. She was professional when she did have to speak to me, but she went out of her way to avoid it where she could. She hadn't said a word about my father, or what she'd said on the pavement outside the diner, and I don't think she intended to.

If we weren't due to leave the house at the end of the week, I probably would have left it. But I'd been right when I'd told Eddie I could lose her at any time. While Mom had said things that could never be taken back, I didn't want to leave things like this.

"Mom? Can I have a private word after dinner?" I asked at the communal dinner table, so she didn't have the luxury of being able to ignore me.

"I'm sorry, Rosemarie, I have some urgent reports to finish up. I don't have the time."

"It will only take a couple of minutes," I said softly.

Noticing the other table occupants observing our terse interaction, she capitulated.

"Fine. In my office after dinner."

I barely tasted the food as I ate my meal. I really didn't want to do this – there'd already been too much confrontation between us. But our relationship was like a festering wound; and one way or another it needed to be cauterized.

I helped clear the dishes from the table, and Artyom and I did the dishes as per Mom's roster.

"Things seem not well between you and your mother at the moment," he observed in his accented voice.

' _Not well.'_ What an understatement.

"Things are rarely well between us," I said with a sigh.

"Does she disapprove of you?"

"She wished she'd never had me."

"I find that hard to believe," he said, looking at me with tender eyes. Ugh. I'd hoped he'd gotten over _that._ Seeing that sort of look from anyone but Dimitri was gross!

I turned to face him fully.

"Actually, she does. She said so," I told him in a matter of fact voice.

I set the last dish into the drainer and dried my hands before crossing the entryway, into the library and through to Mom's study. My Russian God gave me a concerned look as I walked past him. Since the events in Sheridan, he'd given up trying to get me to interact with my mother. Hearing what she'd said had convinced him some things were best left alone – which is why he was no doubt surprised to see me initiating a conversation with my mother.

Inside the study, I pointedly turned and shut the doors leading through into the library. Not that it would give us much privacy if my mother decided to start shouting, but it was more a symbolic gesture, I guess?

"So what did you want to talk about?" Mom asked. I'd hoped she was going to make it easier on me by raising the topic of my father, but apparently not.

"Well we're finishing up here in a few days, and I wanted to clear the air before we left."

"I don't think there's anything to say," she said brusquely, dropping her eyes to her paperwork.

"I do," I said, steeling myself for another explosion. "I know you didn't intend for me to ever know about Abe, but I do now. I'm sorry if that upsets you, I don't think it was his intention, and it certainly wasn't mine."

"I kept you from him for a reason," she hissed. "You have no idea about him! What he does. What he's _capable_ of! If you had _any_ idea of the things he did for a living…"

"You mean the illegal arms, drug running, gambling, protection money, and extortion amongst other sordid activities?"

"He told you about all that?!" Mom asked in surprise.

I shrugged. Abe had hinted at it, although Dimitri had been the one to flesh out most of the gruesome details, outlining all the many operations Zmey was known, or reliably rumored, to have interests in.

"I know he's called Zmey, and I know what he does, Mom. He was surprisingly open with me."

"Was he open with you about what he wants?" she mocked. "Because he always wants _something,_ don't ever doubt that, Rosemarie!"

"Well, he said he wanted to get to know me."

Mom snorted dismissively.

"Just because you don't want to know me doesn't mean everyone else feels the same way," I said sadly. "I don't know if he wants any sort of ongoing relationship, but he flew half way across the world to meet me. That counts for something."

"I didn't say I didn't want to know about you," my mother said looking decidedly uneasy.

"No. You said you wished you'd never had me and you didn't care where I went," I said, trying not to tear up.

"I said a lot of things I didn't mean," she snapped, her eyes dropping to her hands. "That man could always get under my skin…"

"It doesn't matter…" I muttered.

"It _does,"_ she growled. "I didn't mean it. He'll make me the villain in this! He'll tell you all sorts of horrible things about me!"

"He hasn't said a bad thing about you," I defended, and it was true. Other than joking about her temper, he'd been surprisingly restrained in his description and references about my mother. "He's been respectful, and he's barely mentioned you. Mostly he told me about his life growing up, his family and his life now."

"He doesn't _have_ any family," she declared quickly, trying to prove a point.

"Yeah, he said they were all dead," I supplied refusing to rise to her bait. "But I still liked hearing about them. He said I looked a bit like his mother."

"Well you always resembled him more than me, even when you were a bairn," Mom acknowledged, perhaps a little more gently than her previous statements.

"I want to get to know him, Mom. I'm not stupid – I know he'll probably show interest for a few weeks or months and then disappear out of my life again. But I want to know where I came from. I can't force you to tell me about your family and life, but while I have a parent willing to talk and share with me, I'm going to make the most of it. I want to feel I come from somewhere."

I gave her a final look and turned to leave.

"I still love you, Mom. I know you didn't want me, but I'm here, and I'm willing to talk anytime you are."

* * *

"That's the last of it," Stan announced, closing the tailgate on the SUV. It was Saturday, and we were packed and ready to go.

"Let's take a photo," I suggested. "Of all of us."

It took some maneuvering, but with the help of Meredith's backpack, I managed to position my phone on its side on the bonnet of one of the vehicles and set the timer function. We lined up; girls at the front, guys at the back. We had to hunker in close, and while I was always going to smile, feeling Dimitri pressed close to me from behind certainly added a sparkle to my grin.

With a final look at the property, we climbed into the cars – Mom, Stan, Blake and Eddie in one, Dimitri, Artyom, Meredith, Elizaveta, and I in the other. While I wanted to call shotgun, Dimitri named Artyom as his second. Admittedly Artyom was a buff guy, and the back seat wasn't huge, so it made sense for us girls to share the rear. But I think part of Dimitri's reasoning was also not wanting Artyom seated anywhere near me! Preferring not to sit beside Elizaveta, I claimed the spot behind Dimitri and Meredith took the middle. Artyom did the final checks, and we were off.

Overall the mood in the car was positive. We'd got through the mission. Of course, only Eddie, Dimitri and I knew how close some of had come to _not_ making it! However, that wasn't the only reason I was excited. Tonight I'd be back at St. Vlad's – even if it were just for a night or two. I couldn't wait to see Alberta, and access to the rest of my wardrobe would be welcome, as well! We'd left the house at 2 pm, so by the time we factored in a dinner stop, we'd probably be getting in around 9 pm.

I cuddled under my quilt, leaning against the door to give Meredith as much space as possible. Artyom was talking about how much he was looking forward to visiting Court, but I was only half listening, instead staring at the back of Dimitri's neck – admiring his promise mark, molnija, and zvezda, and fantasizing about kissing them, and him, over and over again.

We hadn't had much of a chance to be alone together since Sheridan, but he'd been affectionate and loving when he could. As stupid as it seemed, weathering our first big fight together made me feel even closer to him. I was crazy in love, and I couldn't wait until the world could know it!

I smiled, fingering the blossoms in my pocket. I'd woken up this morning and bounded into the bathroom eager to start my day. When I got back to my bedroom, everything was undisturbed, but a few Spring blossoms had been placed on my pillow. I'd wondered about it, but smiled when I saw Dimitri at the kitchen table half an hour later holding a sprig of the same white flowers to his nose. It was such a sweet thing to do!

"Are you looking forward to Court, Rose?" Meredith asked pulling me out of my sexy fantasies about Dimitri.

"Yeah. I haven't seen Lissa since she left so I can't wait to catch up with her," I said. Of course, seeing Lissa would mean also seeing Tasha since Liss was staying at the Ozera family house. Our group was scheduled to stay at the Guardian Dorms at Court, but I was fearful Tasha would want Dimitri to stay with them and immediately resume his role as Lissa's Guardian.

"Hey, Dimitri? Have you heard anything about where they're sending Blake, Eddie, Meredith and me?" I asked.

The twins would be returning to St. Basil's, but the fate of us four had not yet been disclosed.

"Last I heard, they were ringing around the academies to see who had room. With the influx of Novices across the year levels, most Academies are filled to capacity," he replied.

"I just hope I don't get Kansas," I groaned. St. Michael's wasn't well regarded, and its fighting program was the weakest of any of the academies.

"Bet they send Blake there," Meredith muttered under her breath.

"Too right," I chuckled. While Blake was a lot better than he had been at the start of our mission, he still lagged well behind the rest of us Novices.

The time passed slowly. Elizaveta and Artyom talked about friends they were looking forward to seeing back at St. Basil's.

"I'm fascinated to see St. Vladimir's," Elizaveta said in a tone bordering on sarcastic. "Although I have heard it's tiny. Not even _half_ the size of St. Basil's?"

I shrugged. I wouldn't know, and I wasn't going to rise to the implied slight on my home and where I'd trained.

"St. Basil's is larger geographically, but the equipment is newer at St. Vladimir's," Dimitri announced diplomatically. Of course! Sometimes I forgot he had attended St. Basil's.

"Do you miss it?" I asked him, meaning St. Basil's.

"I graduated a long time ago now, Rose," he laughed, "but I miss Russia very much. It's been too long since I've been home..."

He sounded wistful, which made me sad.

"You could go on holidays there?" I suggested.

"Maybe," he said in a tone of voice that meant no. He wouldn't admit it in front of the others, but I knew finding the time and money to go would be difficult. It was a stark reminder how tied Guardians became to their charges and their jobs.

It was still too early to slip into Lissa's head; she'd no doubt be sleeping, so I tried to sleep a little myself. I must have succeeded, because the next thing I knew the car was empty, and Dimitri was in the back seat, leaning over me whispering, "Wake up, sleepy. We're in Bozeman for dinner."

I opened my eyes, and it was dark outside. We were parked in the lot of a fast food restaurant, but there was no one in sight.

He leaned over and kissed me gently, his warm, soft lips lingering against mine.

"How about you second for the rest of the journey?" he suggested indulgently, straightening up and climbing out the other side of the car. I rolled my shoulders and followed, trailing him into the burger joint.

Mom, Stan, and the others were inside looking at the board and ordering their meals.

"Nice of you to join us, Hathaway," Eddie joked. "Heard you were snoring all the way from Sheridan."

"I don't snore," I snapped, a little annoyed to have been woken – even if it was by my lover's kiss.

"Sure you don't," Meredith said with a twinkle in her eye. "And you don't dribble, either!"

I quickly wiped the back of my hand across my lips, which only caused them to laugh more at me.

"You're assholes," I mumbled, checking out the menu. I ordered up big, knowing this would be my last chance for junk food for a while. Court had cafes rather than fast food joints, and while I didn't know where I'd be headed for my final training, the Academies were typically in the middle of nowhere well out of human sight, so it was doubtful there'd be fast food near wherever I ended up.

"You're not going to eat all that, are you?" Artyom asked, looking at my heavily laden trays in alarm.

"Sure am," I replied.

"You won't be able to finish it," he predicted.

"Want to bet on it?" Eddie asked, knowing I was virtually a bottomless pit when it came to food, but junk food in particular.

"No fleecing the Russians," Stan ordered, but with a slight pull at the side of his mouth. "We all know Hathaway could eat her bodyweight in food."

Everyone who knew me laughed, even Mom.

"We'll be back to eating St. Vlad's food, soon," I said before taking my first bite of my burger and groaning in pleasure. Chewing and swallowing, I continued. "I'd order up big too if I was you!"

The next twenty minutes were spent me eating, Eddie, Meredith and even Blake watching me with amusement. Artyom was staring incredulously as I put away my first and second trays of food. I could see my Russian God studying me as I ate, the ghost of a smile on his sensuous lips.

"That was good," I said with a grin, gesturing to my empty trays. Everyone else had finished, too, so I stood up and stretched ready to go.

"Hmm – anyone else want a sundae for the road?" I asked innocuously.

"You're _kidding_ me?" Artyom gasped.

In truth I was – I was so full I could barely move – but I wanted to see his reaction.

"No eating in the cars," Dimitri directed, putting an end to that discussion.

Meredith and I headed to the bathroom and then we walked to the SUVs.

"Hathaway can second this time," Dimitri said authoritatively to our group. It was a small thing, but even sitting beside Dimitri felt right.

We set off first, Mom's vehicle following. It was a dark night, the moon hidden behind clouds, and the I90 was quiet. We followed it from Bozeman up through to just after Trident where we veered onto Route 287 up toward Helena. We'd traveled for almost an hour, and were just outside Winston when my stomach started to roll.

"Comrade? I don't feel so good…"

"You shouldn't have eaten so much," Elizaveta grumbled, and I was secretly thinking maybe she had a point.

"Do you need me to stop?" Dimitri asked, his voice filled with concern.

I looked at the darkness surrounding the road. We hadn't seen another car in ages, although turning to look behind me, I could see the lights from Mom's SUV trailing us, some distance back.

"No. Don't stop," I said with a shiver.

I couldn't explain it, but something was wrong. Off. Surely this road should be busier than this? It was a major interstate for God's sake. At just past 8 pm on a Saturday night, surely people would be going places?

My stomach rolled again, and that's when I recognized it wasn't a symptom of overeating. Trying not to freak out, I spun in my seat, making sure I could see Mom's headlights behind me.

"Comrade? Are you packing extra silver?" I asked casually, although it was futile – I could feel Dimitri instantly tense beside me.

"Yes. My second stake is in my jacket, right inside pocket. There are additional stakes in the glove box."

"What's wrong?" Elizaveta asked, sensing there was more to our words than was being said.

"I just have a funny feeling," I said evasively, reaching into Dimitri's coat and grabbing his second stake, then opening the glove box. "It's probably nothing, but take these just in case," I said passing Artyom, Elizaveta, and Meredith a stake each, making sure I'd be carrying Dimitri's spare.

While I was arming the Novices, Dimitri placed a call to Mom.

"Could be nothing, but we've not passed any cars for quite some time, and Rose has a feeling something's not right," he explained over the Bluetooth hands-free system.

"Rose has a feeling?" we could hear Stan sneer from the other car. "Excuse me if I'm not convinced."

"Arm the Novices," my mother barked. "It's probably nothing, but we'll treat it as a training exercise. Belikov? I'm going to come closer – maintain your current speed."

Dimitri was acknowledging her words when we came around a corner and almost straight into a massive tree lying right across the road. He slammed on the brakes, managing to pull up before we plowed into its massive trunk and branches.

"Tree down!" he replied in response to my mother's frantic questions when she'd heard the car skidding to a stop. "Slow down around the corner."

Dimitri was reaching for his door handle to step outside to take a look when my stomach rolled in an unmistakable way.

"Strigoi!" I warned him. "Quite a few."

"You're sure?" he asked me, his voice tight with tension.

"I'm sure," I said, pointing to the pale figures now appearing all around on the road in front of us. "Here comes..."


	22. Chapter 22

I piled out of the car, walking around to stand beside Dimitri. The other Novices followed, standing behind the two of us. Looking about me, I did a head count. Fifteen Strigoi that I could see. This wasn't great. There were only five of us, only one a truly seasoned fighter, although Meredith and I had at least _seen_ Strigoi before. I wasn't sure about Artyom or Elizaveta.

"Dhampir?" one of the Strigoi commented to another. "That must mean another car will be following with Moroi."

"Only the big one is a Guardian. The others are too young."

"Maybe Novices from the school?" another suggested.

"I _told_ you, they closed the school after the attack and sent the Novices and Moroi elsewhere," a fourth voice argued.

It was with relief the headlights of Mom's SUV raked across the scene as she rounded the corner, pulling up to a stop directly behind us. She was out almost before the car had rolled to a stop, coming to stand beside Dimitri - Stan, Eddie, and Blake on her heels.

"Ahh. The Scottish Hellcat," one Strigoi spat recognizing my mother. I guess she had a certain reputation, even amongst Strigoi, I reflected.

Mom and Dimitri wasted no time starting the fight, each flinging themselves toward the nearest Strigoi. I followed, catching my first victim completely off-guard. If he'd thought I was some greenhorn and would be an easy kill, he'd paid the ultimate price for it. I pulled Dimitri's stake from his chest, quickly assessing the fight to see where I was most needed.

Mom was fighting a cluster to one side with Alto, and Blake was fighting next to my Russian God. I hated the idea of Blake having Dimitri's back, but when I saw Meredith, Eddie, and Artyom struggling with the number of Strigoi they were facing, I moved across to them.

The reason they were struggling quickly became apparent. Elizaveta had completely freaked out and was standing, shaking, with her hands over her face in terror. The other three were fighting while surrounding her protectively.

"Vitsin, we don't have time for this!" I bellowed, inadvertently attracting the attention of a wiry former Moroi who broke off from the main group to engage with me. "Get it together!" I snapped, starting a deadly dance with a new foe. We were circling, each looking for our opening when the tiniest flick of her eyes betrayed her. She'd looked behind me, so I ducked, and only just in time, avoiding being grabbed from behind.

A male Strigoi stumbled over me. He'd expected my body to stop his momentum, and when it didn't, he tumbled over my back and into the female Strigoi in front of me. Both knocked to the ground, Eddie shot forward and staked the male in the back, ending his life in an instant.

"Well done, Castile," I grunted, kicking the male's body away before landing on top of the female to dispose of her with equal expediency.

I was turning to rejoin the fight surrounding the novices when I heard Alto shout, "Hathaway!"

At first, I thought he was calling for me, but looking across to where my mother was fighting, I saw it had been a warning. Not that it had helped. I was ten yards away when I saw a Strigoi kick her viciously in the upper thigh from behind, and heard a sickening crack as my mother's left femur broke.

Landing on her side in the gravel at the roadside, I saw two Strigoi pounce on her, keen to finish her off and no doubt claim the glory of vanquishing the notorious Janine Hathaway.

Well. Not on _this_ Hathaway's watch! Sure she was a bitch at times, and she'd all but disowned me in the middle of a Sheridan sidewalk. But she was still my mother, and I wasn't going to lose her on the side of Route 287 and this close to the Academy!

I sprang forward, grabbing the closest Strigoi and flinging him from my mother. I didn't have time to deal with him, though. The other Strigoi, a female almost as diminutive as my mother, was leaning down fangs bared. If I didn't act now, it would be too late.

I jumped on the Strigoi's back, inadvertently pushing her on top of my already wounded Mom. Grabbing the creature by the hair, I raked my borrowed stake across her throat.

Roaring in pain and anger, the Strigoi bucked me from her back, and I landed on the gravel on my ass, dropping my stake. The Strigoi was on me in an instant, and I was scrabbling backward toward my stake when a foot kicked the stake toward my hand. I looked up from the combat boot responsible and saw Stan engaged with other Strigoi who'd been attacking Mom.

"Thanks, Alto," I acknowledged, grabbing the stake and pulling myself back to standing.

The two of us circled before she attempted a kick similar to the one that had floored my mother, but I wasn't about to fall for that. I waited until she was committed and then kicked her as hard as I could in the ribs. I heard a crack, and my opponent roared, but I also knew she would already be healing, a Strigoi's constitution being what it was.

The battle was still raging around me. I wanted to look about to make sure Dimitri was safe, but I couldn't spare even a second from the deadly duel I was involved in. We kept trading blows, each waiting for the other to make a fatal error. She was a wily one and made me wait. But finally, she overextended with one punch, and I grabbed her arm, yanking it down hard, staking her with my left hand. I got in, and past the ribs, but it wasn't deep enough. I let go of her, but before she could spin or pull the stake from her chest, I slammed my right hand on top of the left, forcing the stake deeper into the chest cavity and into her heart. She slumped to the ground, taking my stake with her.

I stooped to retrieve the stake, righting myself to check the fight. Alto had just disposed of his Strigoi leaving the two of us momentarily unoccupied. Blake and Dimitri were still fighting, and I couldn't help but feel proud of the pile of Strigoi bodies heaped around my lover's feet. Eddie, Artyom, and Meredith seemed to be holding their own, too.

I checked my mother, and she was in a bad way. Blood was soaking through her pants, and I could see what looked like a bit of bone poking through the damp, torn fabric.

"Alto? Can you get her to the car? I'll cover you."

It was a risky maneuver. Carrying Mom, Stan would be completely defenseless if he were attacked. But at the same time, Guardians had each other's back, and we wouldn't leave Mom here to bleed out if there was a chance we could save her.

Stan picked Mom up, throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman's hold. It must have hurt like hell, but she didn't even whimper – knowing she couldn't afford to draw attention to us. Skirting the edge of the fight, I put myself between Mom, Stan, and the action. We managed to get her into the back seat of the car she'd driven without incident, laying her across the back seat.

"Mom, just hang on. We're not far from the Academy. We'll get you there as soon as possible," I promised, closing the door and following Stan back into the fight, hoping the Strigoi would leave the vehicle alone.

Stan was now near Dimitri and Blake, helping them with their batch of opponents. Seeing that fight covered, I joined Meredith, Artyom, and Eddie. Elizaveta was still frozen with fear. She was now sitting on the ground, her knees drawn up and arms over her head.

I'd heard of battle-freeze. It actually wasn't that uncommon. A phenomena experienced by new Guardians, the sight of real Strigoi could be enough to render them completely insensible and unable to fight. There was no knowing who it would happen to, or whether a Guardian would get over it. For understandable reasons, a Guardian's first battle-freeze was usually their last.

"It's battle-freeze," Eddie grunted, saying what I already knew. He was still fighting a Strigoi, and I was proud to see he was holding his own.

We had to get her out of here. I'd help her, but I doubt she trusted me enough to come with me. So I worked my way across to Artyom.

"You have to take your sister. Get her back to the cars. My Mom's in one of them. Put her in with her," I ordered, stepping in front of him to engage the Strigoi he'd been fighting.

I didn't have time to listen whether Artyom was obeying my instructions, as I immediately went on the offensive with my target. A short, stocky former Guardian, this guy knew how to fight. I could see him testing out my reach and speed, keeping me occupied while he got a sense of how I fought. I wondered whether he knew I was doing the same to him?

In the back of my head, I could hear Dimitri's voice running through his battle rules like a mantra. Number four seemed to be the most pertinent here. 'Do the unexpected.'

Trusting my Russian God in this, as with all other things, I interrupted the predictable right, right, left, kick combo I'd been doing and launched myself into the air, kicking the Strigoi with the heel of my combat boot right in its face.

The enraged Strigoi bellowed, spitting teeth out onto the dirt and howling incomprehensively. As soon as I landed, I followed my face kick up with a kick to the nuts. A second roar followed the Strigoi's first, and he dropped to his knees. It was only a moment's distraction, but that's all I needed. I slammed my borrowed stake into his heart and sent him to meet his maker on his knees with his hands clutching his balls.

The fight was winding down. Dimitri was fighting one, Stan and Blake tag-teaming another. Eddie had finally got his down and was now helping Meredith fight hers. I'd thought there were one or two more, but maybe not?

And then I heard a roar of pain. My head snapped up, and I looked toward the cars, just in time to see Artyom with a Strigoi behind him, his head pulled back, the Strigoi attached to his neck. Artyom was using his body to shield Elizaveta, who was pressed back against the car, watching her brother's plight in terror.

The Strigoi was draining Artyom's life force, and Elizaveta was completely impotent and unable to stop it.

I flew toward the three of them, stake drawn. Without even thinking, I staked the Strigoi from behind, using its own bloodlust distraction to my advantage.

The Strigoi slumped, falling and almost pulling Artyom with him. The Novice was alive, but it looked like only just. We needed to get him to the infirmary and fast.

I supported him, opening the passenger door and half lifting, half shoving him into the seat. I spun to face Elizaveta who was still standing uselessly against the car door.

"Come on," I coaxed, remembering Alto's advice in Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection about how to deal with a terrified Moroi, or in this case Novice. "Let's get you into the safety of the car," I cajoled, making it sound like we were off for a merry jaunt in the country and not trying to evacuate her from what was still a dangerous situation.

After a couple of false starts, I was able to guide Elizaveta around the back of the car and into the back seat with Mom. I carefully lifted Mom's head, putting it in Elizaveta's lap when I coaxed the latter into the car.

"You ok, Mom?" I asked, noticing my always pale mother had even less color, and her skin looked clammy.

"Fine," Mom replied in a tone that told me she was anything but.

"We'll have you back to St. Vlad's in no time," I promised.

Shutting the door on the three of them I checked out the battle. Blake was probably the least 'useful' fighter, so I headed over to help Alto with the Strigoi the two of them were trying to finish off.

"Ayett? Do you know how to get to the Academy from here?" I barked.

"Straight up 287 and veer off just before Louisville?"

I nodded. "Go! Mom and Artyom are both injured, and Elizaveta has battle-freeze. Take them and head for the Academy. Call through and let them know you're on your way and don't stop for _anything._ Head straight for the infirmary, got it?"

"Got it," he said, running to the SUV and climbing in. He gunned the engine to life and drove off the edge of the road, bush-bashing in the dark to go around the huge tree the Strigoi had presumably brought down across the road.

Bringing my focus back to the fight, I grabbed Stan's Strigoi from behind, holding its arms back, so Stan had a clear shot at the heart. Sinking his stake into it with a loud grunt, followed by a rather rude word, between Stan and I we neutralized that threat.

Dimitri was standing beside us catching his breath after dispatching his last opponent, and a quick look to Eddie and Meredith saw they, too, were victorious. The fight was over and, so far at least, we'd all lived to tell the tale.

I shot my love a grateful smile.

"All clear?" Dimitri asked, referring to my Strigoi 'early warning system.'

I closed my eyes and felt with my body.

"We're good," I acknowledged.

Eddie was walking around counting the corpses, the largest pile surrounding Dimitri.

"Seventeen in total. That's quite some nest… No wonder they felled a tree."

He had a point. Strigoi traveling in threes and fours was rare enough. Seventeen in a group was virtually unheard of!

"How many did you kill, Hathaway?" Eddie asked, aiming for jocularity but failing.

"Five," I said, quickly doing a mental tally.

"Damn you," he groaned. "Two," he said holding up his fingers in what was paradoxically also a peace sign.

"I knew you could do it," I said softly so only hear could hear me. These were his first Strigoi kills.

"One here," Meredith said with only a small waver in her voice. "Artyom got one, too."

"Two for me," Stan confirmed.

"Six," Dimitri said modestly, starting to drag the bodies off the road. "I'll call the Alchemists and get them to block the road higher up. In the meantime hide these bodies off the road just in case. They'll be melting in the sun at first light."

We dragged the bodies out of sight, the task onerous now the adrenaline was wearing off, and battle fatigue was kicking in. We'd just finished, and Dimitri had reported into the Alchemists when Dimitri's phone rang. It was Alberta, and my Russian God was able to report that the rest of us were ok. He was also able to reassure me that Blake had reported in, and was almost back at the Academy.

The cleanup done, as well as we were able, Dimitri declared it time to go.

"Alto? You up to driving?" Dimitri asked.

"Sure thing? Second for me, Castile?"

Eddie agreed, so we climbed into the car; Alto and Castile up front, Dimitri, Meredith and I in the back. I took the middle seat, resting my thigh comfortably against my man's.

"Thanks for your stake, Comrade," I said, wiping it on my hoodie before handing it to him.

"Anytime," he joked, although truth be told it wasn't very funny.

Back on the main road, Stan steered us toward the Academy. We were all sore, and weary, but more than anything I wanted to see my mother. Her break had been a bad one, and she'd be out of action for quite some time – and that's assuming everything healed well. It had been eye opening to see Mom on her back and so close to losing her life to a Strigoi. I wanted to see her and make sure she was ok and that she knew I loved her.

I leaned my head on Dimitri's shoulder. Given the circumstances, it could be written off as tiredness from the fight. And if Meredith noticed Dimitri's hand clasping mine under the edge of his duster she didn't mention it, but I took solace in his rough, warm hand holding mine as we drove to the school.

They were waiting for us at the gates, and I wasn't surprised when Stan drove us straight to the infirmary. I bounded out the car door as soon as the car pulled to a stop, navigating the long familiar corridors of the infirmary to the two trauma rooms. With only a skeleton staff at the school, unless there'd been some other incident that took precedence, this is where my mother and Artyom would be.

Looking into the first of the rooms, I could see Elizaveta sitting on a chair, her back to the door. Artyom was asleep on the bed, and I could tell Elizaveta was weeping as she held his hand. But the absence of medical personnel was encouraging; Artyom looked like he was sleeping peacefully and would recover.

Giving the two of them their privacy, I stuck my head in the next room to see my mother lying on the bed. Alberta was sitting on the chair beside her, speaking with Mom quietly.

"Here she is now!" Alberta said with a relieved smile when she spotted me.

"They're just getting theatre ready for your mother," she explained. "They need to set the bone, but she should be fine. She's pretty drugged up, but she's been asking for you."

"Mom? Mom I'm here now," I said, grasping my mother's hand and pulling a chair close up by her bedside. "We all got back safe, and they're going to take you through to theatre to set your leg, but you'll be ok."

Mom opened her eyes, and nodded, before closing her eyes. I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it, holding my face against it.

"We need to take her now," a Dhampir orderly announced, undoing the wheel locks on the bed Mom was on and preparing to take her to the operating room.

"Don't worry about anything, ok? Everything's going to be fine," I promised her, surprising myself by bursting into tears.

"I love you, Rosemarie," Mom said as they started to wheel her away.

"I love you too, Mom," I said, watching as they wheeled her out before sagging into Alberta's open arms.


	23. Chapter 23

After I'd composed myself, Alberta and I went next door to check on Artyom. He was pale, but the wound at his neck had been bandaged, and he would live. Elizaveta was still sitting at his bedside, holding his hand and weeping. Before Alberta and I came in, I'd worded her up on Elizaveta's battle-freeze, explaining how she'd completely frozen and outlined how her brother nearly died trying to get her into the car and away to safety.

"You have some nerve showing your face in here," Elizaveta growled furiously as soon as she saw me. "Artyom could have _died_ because of you!"

"Excuse me?" I asked, genuinely perplexed. If I hadn't intervened, Artyom would have died while his sister stood there watching a Strigoi feast on his neck. I wasn't expecting a brass band and a key to the city, but a simple 'thanks' would have been nice!

"I want her charged!" she shouted to Alberta. "My brother nearly _died_ because of that bitch!" she shrieked.

Alberta's perplexed eyes met mine. Neither of us knew what to make of this.

"Calm down Novice Vitsin," Alberta said calmly but with unmistakable authority. "If there's been a breach of Guardian protocol it will certainly be investigated. Everyone needs a good sleep, and we'll tend to our wounded. We'll look into everything further when the reports are written up."

"It's all _her_ fault," Elizaveta said bitterly, giving me a scathing look. "Artyom wouldn't be in here if it wasn't for her!"

I canted my head, letting Alberta know I'd wait for her outside. I wracked my brain wondering why Elizaveta thought I was responsible for Artyom's injury.

Sure I'd ordered him to take his sister to the car, but it was the best option in the situation. I didn't think Elizaveta would have moved for anyone bar him, and even with the benefit of hindsight, I stuck by my decision.

Maybe she blamed me for not escorting them to the vehicle as I had with Stan and Mom? I doubted she'd been with it enough to notice me doing that, though. Besides, Stan was completely vulnerable when he'd been carrying Mom, so an escort had been necessary. Artyom had still been able to fight – and I needed to take over battling his Strigoi to give him a chance to get his sister away.

"Elizaveta wants to stay with her brother," Alberta said meeting me outside Artyom's room. "I'll have them bring in a bed for her. When she wakes, I'll ask the staff to let Meredith know. I'll task her with showing Novice Vitsin around while she's here."

"Ok," I mumbled. It wasn't like I was itching for the opportunity, but I was still perplexed by Elizaveta's reaction.

"Cafeteria is closed now there are no students and staff on campus, so all meals are in the Guardian's Lounge. You and the others are welcome there. In the meantime, you might want to go get cleaned up?"

Glancing down, my clothes were covered in blood, and torn in several places. Feeling weary as hell, I wanted a hot shower, followed by some fresh clothes and some cuddles with Dimitri.

"I think I'll do that," I agreed with a small smile. I followed Alberta out of the infirmary, stopping at the front desk to leave my cell number and asking for an update as soon as Mom was out from having her bone set, while Alberta issued her instructions for Artyom and Elizaveta.

I walked up the stairs to the third floor where the female Novices were housed. Far from full at the best of times, tonight only Meredith and I would be sleeping here. It wasn't until I got half way down the hallway I remembered my keys were in my bag that I'd left in the SUV, but looking down the corridor, I saw my duffel sitting neatly beside my door.

Dimitri, no doubt. It was the sort of thoughtful, loving thing he'd do.

I picked up my bag, rummaging within until I found my keys. Letting myself into my room, I found it completely undisturbed. It was exactly as I'd left it seven weeks ago. It was the same. It was me who was different.

Suddenly I felt alone. I didn't want to be here in this cold, lonely dorm room. I wanted to be with my man. Quickly choosing some clean underwear and clothing, plus my wet bag and a fresh towel, I shoved them all in a small backpack and made my way across to Dimitri's room. I wouldn't be able to stay overnight with him – it was just too risky – but maybe he'd let me use his shower? Hell – maybe he'd even _join_ me?!

I made it to Dimitri's room unobserved. Knocking quietly, the door opened almost immediately.

"I'd hoped you'd come," he said, his voice tired but affectionate. He hadn't yet changed, and he looked as exhausted as I felt.

"Thanks for my bag, Comrade," I said shyly, closing the door, putting my backpack down and slipping my arms around him.

"You're welcome," he said leaning his cheek on the top of my head as we embraced.

We stood in the middle of his room drawing strength from one another. It had been a long, long day!

"Are you hungry?" he asked, breaking our silence.

"No. But I'd kill for a hot shower," I said looking up at him from under my lashes.

He growled softly, my unspoken suggestion not lost on him.

"Would you like me to join you in the shower, Roza?" he crooned huskily.

"I would," I said, taking his hand in mine and leading him across to his bathroom.

* * *

"So she blamed you for what happened to Artyom?" Eddie asked, his nose wrinkling in confusion.

"Apparently," I said, shrugging. I was sitting in one of the armchairs in the Guardian's lounge, legs tucked up under me, talking with Meredith, Eddie, and Blake.

"She's feral with me, so Alberta's going to get you to take care of her and show her around," I mentioned to Meredith.

After showering together, and lots of cuddling, Dimitri had braided my hair, and we'd walked down here together. We were transitioning back to Moroi time, so we were trying to stay up as late as possible to start resetting our body clocks.

"It's weird seeing this place so quiet," Blake observed, meaning the lounge as well as the school. All the students except us were gone, and the only staff left were the Guardians and a small complement of kitchen, hospital and service staff.

"It's only for a day or two," I said, trying not to be obvious about watching Dimitri over the other side of the room where he was chatting with Alto and some of the other Guardians. "Then it's off to Court. We should probably start on our reports," I grumbled, indicating the ancient PCs lined up on one side of the room for just such a purpose. "If we do them now, it's less to do later, and you know Alberta will want to see them."

"Good idea," Eddie groaned, sounding as enthusiastic about it as I was.

The four of us each sat in front of a PC, navigating through the file system to find the correct proforma. Typing in the attack details, we'd occasionally interrupt each other to clarify minor points. It was Blake's first time doing a Guardian report, so the rest of us helped him.

"Doing your reports? Good idea," Alto said from behind us. "I can read through them if you like?" he offered. Guardian reports were a tedious business, and there was definitely an art to them. He skimmed over each account, asking questions and making suggestions where relevant.

By 1 am our reports were submitted and we were all starting to flag.

"I'm going to bed," Meredith announced. "I can hardly keep my eyes open."

Dimitri was sitting on a sofa nearby reading one of his westerns. I would have loved to sneak away with him to spend the night in bed together, but it wasn't to be.

"I'll walk up with you," I said, grabbing the backpack with my dirty clothes and wet towel. "Night all," I said, giving Dimitri a small smile when he looked up from his book.

"How's your Mom going?" Meredith asked as we walked in the same direction up the stairs to our floor.

"Good. She made it through surgery, and the bone was pinned, but she was knocked out, so they said not to visit until later. They're going to transfer her to Court where she can get better medical care."

"I'm glad she's alright."

"Thanks. So am I. She might be a bitch, and we might fight like cat and dog, but she's still my Mom."

I let myself into my room, flopping onto the bed. It wasn't as comfortable as the one at the Alchemist's property, but I was that tired I barely noticed. I fell asleep almost as soon as I closed my eyes.

* * *

"She looks so peaceful when she's asleep…" I heard in the periphery of my consciousness.

"You can wake her up, then," another voice suggested.

"I'm not scared!" a third voice declared.

"You should be!" I snapped, grabbing Blake's hand and twisting it up behind his back as I simultaneously sat up in bed, glaring at the three Novices standing in front of me, and a very tall, dark and handsome Guardian leaning against the doorframe, his lips curved in a knowing smile.

"Sorry, Rose," Meredith said. "We were knocking for ages, and you didn't answer, so we asked Guardian Belikov to come and open your door."

"Man, you sleep soundly," Blake said backing away now I'd relinquished his arm.

"Remind me, why am I up at this hour?" I growled, noticing I'd fallen asleep in the sweats I'd had on last night. "Actually… what _is_ this hour?"

"It's 6 pm. Alberta's asked to see us all at 8 pm, and I knew you'd want breakfast first," Meredith explained.

"Yeah, yeah. But I want the bathroom before that!"

I pushed them all out of my bedroom, locking the door before scuttling across to the bathroom.

Coming back out, the four of them were waiting in the hallway laughing.

"Come on, let's get you some food," Eddie said with a smile.

"I need to check on Mom first," I argued.

"She's resting comfortably and said not to wake you," Dimitri announced, his chocolate brown eyes immediately reassuring me. "You can see her later."

We walked as a group to the Guardian lounge, Meredith breaking off to fetch Elizaveta.

The selection of breakfast on offer was nowhere near as varied as it was when the full complement of students and staff were on campus, but it was of infinitely better quality. The kitchen staff was looking out for the Guardians left on campus.

"Oh… What a pity. It looks like I got the last doughnuts," Eddie mocked, showing me two perfect choc-glazed mounds on his plate.

"You'd better not have," I warned, my eyes flicking to the buffet, searching for other doughy gifts from the Gods.

"Your funeral," one of the Guardians near us commented to Eddie. My bad temper and love of doughnuts were both legendary.

"Don't think I'll save you," Dimitri laughed, appearing beside us with his own laden plate.

I raised my eyebrows in silent challenge, daring Eddie to take it further. Because if he did, so would I!

"I was just saving them for you," he said backing down, knowing when to walk away.

"Just like I thought," I said with a grin, taking the plate from him and sinking my teeth into the first doughnut, groaning loudly.

"That's truly disgusting," Eddie observed.

"Shut it, Castile!" I pretended to grumble, although I was actually in an excellent mood. Any day that started with doughnuts _had_ to be a good day!

I'd downed the doughnuts and was perusing the buffet with the rest of breakfast in mind when Meredith and Elizaveta appeared, the latter still shooting me daggers. Not wanting my good mood ruined, I ignored her, instead piling my plate high with bacon, eggs, and toast. Knowing Dimitri would be watching me, I also grabbed a bowl of fruit salad in a silent nod to his attempts at getting me eating a healthier diet.

I flopped into a chair beside Eddie shooting him an angelic look while downing the rest of my breakfast.

By eight we were all ready for our briefing with Alberta, trudging into the same meeting room where we'd met when our mission had been announced. Starting with questions about the Strigoi, and anything we'd overhead, she mentioned that they'd come to the conclusion that it was probably a coincidental attack; that the Strigoi had been after food generally and not Moroi or Dhampir specifically.

"We knew there were groups of Strigoi still around the general area," she explained. "The bodies had vaporized by the time the Alchemists got there at first light, but they located a Strigoi camp just inside a cave half a mile from the site. Amongst their belongings was a map, of sorts, of the cave system leading all the way to here. Their schematic was more detailed than anything we have, so they're going to be of great help closing off the cavern's other entrances."

It was a good outcome. Everyone making it out alive, and some valuable intel to boot.

"I'll meet with you individually today; then the plan is to transfer you all to Court in twelve hours from now. Guardian Hathaway will be traveling with you to recuperate in hospital at Court. Novice Artyom Vitsin should be cleared for discharge by then. You will all be debriefed about your mission at Court, and then transported to Academies to continue your training and take your trials."

"Any word where they're sending us?" I asked, giving Alberta my most winsome look. If anyone knew what was going on, she would.

"Not so far," Alberta said, dropping her eyes and failing to meet mine. She _so_ knew something…

Concluding by allocating us our times to meet with her individually, we were dismissed. With a few hours before I needed to see Alberta, I decided to visit Mom.

"How's the patient?" I asked Dr. Olendzki as I walked into the infirmary.

"If possible, even more difficult than you," she laughed. "Now I know where you get it from!"

"…I don't _need_ crutches…" I heard my mother arguing, her outraged voice echoing down the corridor. "Just strap me up, and I'll be _fine_ under my own steam!"

I rolled my eyes.

"I'll try and sort her out – but no promises," I said ominously.

Striding into Mom's room, I found my mother in an ugly standoff with a harassed looking Dhampir.

"Mom? Just take the crutches," I ordered.

"I'm not taking the crutches, and that's final!" she grumbled.

"Up to you… I know you don't _need_ them, " I coaxed using reverse psychology, "but Alberta said you'd be on the flight to Court with us at 8 am, and it would be fun to have them to prod Blake and Alto with…"

"Don't be childish, Rosemarie!" my mother snapped, attempting to take a step toward me, but wincing in pain.

She noticed me observing her flinch.

"Fine. I'll take the crutches," she grudgingly acquiesced.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" I said sweetly, sitting on the end of her bed and watching as she used the crutches to make her way back over to sit beside me. "Is there anything you need? Have they let you have a shower, yet?"

"They gave me a sponge bath earlier," my mother said, her gaze outright challenging me to make fun of it.

"Well, that's good, then. Have you got your stuff?"

"It was all here when I woke up."

"So would you like me to get you anything? Have you eaten?" I asked. This conversation was like pulling teeth. I was trying to show I care by offering to help, and she was trying to prove she was independent, and not seriously injured, by refusing it.

"I'm fine, and yes they brought me food earlier."

My eyes flicked to the untouched tray beside her bed. I could see why it was uneaten. It looked completely inedible. While provisions might have generally improved with so few on campus, that did not seem to have extended to the infirmary.

"Mom? I've been in here enough times to know the infirmary food sucks. Let me get you something from the Guardian lounge. It will only take a minute? The bacon and eggs there this morning were good. And I think they had baked beans…"

I saw a flicker of interest in my mother's eyes. I'd recently learned she was a sucker for baked beans at breakfast.

Giving her a knowing smile, I picked up the tray of insipid slop they'd offered her.

"Get into bed – I'll be back with some real food, soon."

I sprinted across to the Guardian's lounge, quickly putting together a plate of all of Mom's favorites. Sure, there was none of her fabled tattie scones or black pudding, but the scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, toast, grilled tomato, and mushrooms were appetizing. I even located a proper teapot for two, filling it with boiling water and putting a couple of teabags in to steep, pouring hot water into the cup to warm it, just the way Mom liked.

Six weeks living with my mother had taught me some things about her, even if it hadn't been the information I'd hoped for.

"I'm just taking this across to my Mom in the infirmary," I announced to the disapproving kitchen worker as she watched me abscond with a tray full of food.

Back in her room, Mom was in bed waiting, and her face lit up when she saw the spread I'd brought her.

"It's far too much, Rosemarie," she admonished. "I'll never finish it."

I smiled and pretended to believe her. My prodigious appetite had come from somewhere, and now I'd met Abe, I knew it wasn't him!

I sat on the end of the bed, going through the fight with Mom and answering her occasional questions.

"Elizaveta was completely unable to fight," I said, describing the parts of the fight Mom missed. "Eddie and I both think it was battle-freeze. I'm pretty sure it was her first time seeing Strigoi."

"It happens," Mom said sagely, contentedly sipping her tea now her plate was empty. "She's lucky you were there to help her."

"Well, she doesn't see it that way," I said, outlining Elizaveta's peculiar reaction when I'd seen her in Artyom's room and then again at breakfast. "I swear I didn't do anything wrong, Mom. It's like she hates me no matter what."

Mom didn't say much but looked thoughtful.

"So, more molnija?" she asked proudly, changing the subject. "What will that make?"

"Nine molnija and a zvezda," I said, feeling weird listing them. It sounded boastful, but I knew Mom knew I didn't feel proud of them exactly.

"I was six years out before I had that many," Mom shared, "and that was considered a lot for my age."

"What can I say? We live in dangerous times, Mom…"

"Aye. We do," she conceded, taking my hand and holding it in hers as she closed her eyes and rested.


	24. Chapter 24

"Give me a hand up?" Mom grudgingly asked an obsequious Alto who was loitering uselessly beside my mother in the aisle of the plane. The closer we'd got to the end of the mission, the more devoted Stan had become. He was determined to move on from the Academy but needed a good report from Mom to boost his chances. It was a bit sad, really.

I shook my head. The drugs Dr. Olendzki had given me for the flight were wearing off fast. I still had a killer headache, but it had been enough to keep my pesky ghost friends at bay.

It had only been a four-hour flight from the Academy to Court, but Mom's pain killers were also wearing off, and it was starting to get ugly. She shouldn't be walking, but after almost losing her shit when someone had suggested a wheelchair, everyone bar Alto was avoiding her.

"Mom, I'll walk with you to the car," I volunteered, appreciating she'd probably feel happier me helping her when she was vulnerable rather than one of her colleagues. "Stan? Could you take our bags?" I asked sweetly.

I moved Mom carefully down the stairs and across the tarmac, purposefully making it look like we were walking, me with my arm around her affectionately, and not that Mom needed my support. I knew my mother was proud, and she'd rather stay on the plane than look weak walking across to the terminal, even though she _had_ broken her leg. So the two of us ambled across the concrete, me taking most of Mom's weight.

Once inside, we continued straight through the arrivals area and out to the waiting mini bus; Stan, Dimitri and the other Novices trailing in our wake. Once Mom was comfortably installed in the passenger seat, I had few words with the driver then closed the door and walked back to the others.

"We're going to drop everyone to the Guardian dorms, first. I know the hospital is closer, but Mom's feeling funny about going there and isn't going to want an audience. Meredith? Can you collect my key and take my luggage to your room? Text me your dorm number, and I'll spin past once I've settled Mom and get my stuff."

"Um, it's just I was going to meet up with Geoff first thing…" she said, blushing a little.

"I'll take your bag and get your key," Dimitri offered his face impassive.

Better still! Hopefully, he'd be able to swing things so our rooms were near one another's!

We piled into the minibus and were soon on our way to the dorms. I looked about with interest. We'd left the Academy at 8 am for Pennsylvania, but because of the time difference, it was now 2 pm. The middle of the Moroi night! This changing back and forth between time zones then staying up late was seriously doing my head in! Still, it was interesting moving through Court during the Moroi 'night.' There were far more people out and about than I'd anticipated.

All Dhampir, people were painting, building, gardening, street sweeping and doing various other tasks that were easier and more efficiently done during daylight hours. I suppose that explained why Court always looked so good – there was a veritable army of Dhampir service workers doing things behind the scenes. Made sense, I guess. I can't imagine snooty Royals would want to witness someone trimming the hedges or emptying their garbage bins I thought a little bitterly. Not that all Royals were like that, I reminded myself. Lissa wasn't.

Lissa. I couldn't wait to see her, but I didn't know how I'd manage to hide what was going on between Dimitri and me. I was pretty sure she'd be happy for us, but if anyone else found out about us before graduation, we could be in real trouble. And then there was the complication that she was staying with Tasha. I hated lying to Liss, even if it was a lie of omission. But telling her was just too risky. Fortunately, I could tell her all about my father, and that should be enough to keep her busy!

Speaking of my father, I wondered whether I'd get much of a chance to see him? I had heaps more questions I'd thought of over the last week. Besides which, once he returned to Russia who knew when I'd have a chance to see him again? I didn't know how often he came to America; it could be years before I had the opportunity to see him in person again – and that's assuming he wanted to maintain some sort of contact once the initial novelty of discovering he had a daughter subsided.

"Earth to Hathaway," Eddie said smirking at me.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," I replied wearily.

"Alto was saying he'll go to Guardian Headquarters and schedule us to get our molnija. Does tomorrow suit you?"

"Yeah, just let me know when," I said. Eddie sounded a little keyed up about it. They were his first kills so it was to be expected. "Artyom? Are you going to have yours done here, or wait 'til you get back to Russia so your family can be there?"

It was the first time I'd spoken directly to Artyom since the fight, and Elizaveta glared at me.

"I'll have it inked here," he said solemnly. "It's fitting I have it done alongside my fighting companions." He looked at me as though he wanted to say more, but Elizaveta quickly started speaking in Russian, and the moment was gone.

We pulled up outside the Guardian dorms, everyone piling out except Mom and me.

"Good luck," Stan muttered under his breath, his eyes flicking to the passenger seat where my mother sat.

"Yeah, thanks for that," I said, sarcasm evident in my voice.

At the hospital, I helped Mom from the car. She was overdue now for some pain meds, so I managed to coax her into a wheelchair by arguing we'd get her checked in and drugged up twice as fast if she went in the wheelchair and cooperated. Thankfully they were expecting us and wheeled Mom straight into a well appointed private room.

"This is fancy," my mother commented, looking at her accommodations approvingly.

"When we heard it was you, Guardian Hathaway, we saved you our nicest room. You're a legend!" a pretty young Moroi nurse said brightly.

I looked at the Moroi, trying to determine whether she was being facetious, but her bright, friendly smile never wavered for a minute.

"We can take Guardian Hathaway from here," she said to me, giving me a friendly smile.

"Ok. Mom? If you need anything just call, alright? I'll be staying in the Guardian dorms. If I'm not there, I'll probably be hanging out with Lissa, but I'll have my phone on me. Speaking of which, she'll no doubt want to visit you," I warned.

"That's fine. I'm ok, Rosemarie. Just put my bag down over there and pass me my laptop."

"Sorry, Guardian Hathaway, you're here to recuperate not work," the Moroi nurse warned tutting at my mother.

"Good luck with that," I laughed, leaving the two of them to battle it out while I went to check Mom's paperwork was all in order.

It was 3 pm by the time I made it outside, and it was bright and sunny. While I'd mostly become acclimatized to living on a Moroi timetable, the last couple of months living in daylight had been a treat. Dhampir had good night vision, but nothing beat being in the sun. I took my time walking back to the Guardian dorms, calling Dimitri on the way.

"Hello beautiful," he answered on the first ring. "I'm in room 427. You're next door in 428."

"Hmm. Anyone else from our group quartered near us?" I asked with a chuckle, climbing the stairs to the fourth floor.

"No."

"Convenient," I muttered, wandering down the hallway and locating 427. I knocked on the door.

"Hang on – there's someone at the door," he said.

He opened the door, looking handsome as hell in a pair of sweats hanging loosely from his hips. He wasn't wearing a shirt.

"I don't think I like you opening the door dressed like that," I said, disconnecting the call and walking into his room, kicking the door closed behind me. "I like being the only one to see you shirtless outside a sparring ring," I grumbled petulantly, walking into his arms and starting to kiss his pecs.

Dimitri chuckled, a rich, warm noise emanating from his chest.

"Shirt on when answering the door in future. Got it," he agreed, lowering his lips to mine. "We should get some sleep," he said, the tone of his voice letting me know he meant actual sleep.

I looked up at him with puppy dog eyes, hoping he'd ask me to stay.

"No one knows we're here," I said leadingly.

"Fine," he agreed gruffly, not showing any indication of putting up an argument, "but _only_ sleep. The Guardian dorms are _not_ soundproof, so keep your clothes on."

"All of them?"

He eyed me carefully.

"Some of them," he conceded.

I grabbed my bag and took it into the bathroom, emerging a few minutes later wearing sweat pants and a sports bra. Perfectly respectable! Dimitri was lying in the middle of the double bed, holding the covers back for me. I crawled in beside him, smiling as he pulled me close, a heaven sent feeling washing over me.

"I've set the alarm for 8 pm," he murmured, spooning me from behind. We always ended up sleeping this way – me curled up in my Russian God's arms.

My eyes were closed, and I was almost asleep when it occurred to me; in a few days I'd be off to an Academy somewhere, and Dimitri would be living with Tasha and guarding Lissa. We needed to make the most of these moments while we could.

* * *

"I'd better call my father and Lissa," I said with a sigh, lying in the middle of the bed watching Dimitri finish dressing. Sadly, he'd put his uniform pants on while in the bathroom, but seeing him don his shirt and do up the buttons was still enjoyable.

"She'll be excited to see you," he commented.

"I know! I can't wait to see her, too. It just sucks I can't tell her about us…"

"It's for the best, ангел. It's just a few more weeks."

"I know. So what's the plan for today?" I said, choosing not to dwell on unpleasant thoughts.

"I thought you'd be visiting and I was going to run some errands and then Castile asked if I could spend some time with him in the gym."

"Is he ok?"

"Yeah. He just needs to talk."

I nodded, rolling over and picking up my phone from the bedside. Dialing the numbers I'd know in my sleep; I stroked Dimitri's leg as he came to sit on the bed beside me.

"Rose! How are you going!" Lissa answered excitedly.

"Good! How are you?" I asked, a smile in my voice.

"Ok. Getting ready for class. What are you doing?"

"Not much. Just in the Guardian dorms at Court about to have a shower," I said casually.

"In the… _You're at court?! Already?!"_ she shrieked.

"Yep!" I said gleefully, popping the p. "Arrived about six hours ago."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she wailed, and I could feel hurt through the bond.

"Sorry, Liss. I was going to call you when we got to St. Vlad's, but we were attacked by Strigoi on the way. Mom got a badly broken leg and had to come to Court for medical attention so we didn't stay at St. Vlad's as long as expected. This is the first chance I've had to call you at a decent hour," I explained.

"A Strigoi attack! How many! Is everyone ok?" Liss gasped.

"Other than Mom's leg, one of the Russian Novices who was with us was bitten and lost a lot of blood but is alright now. Everyone else is ok. Eddie and Meredith made their first kills," I said, despite knowing Lissa wouldn't appreciate the full significance of that.

"So when can I see you?" she asked, all annoyance forgotten.

"Depends – what time does school finish?" I teased.

"Come over now!" Lissa begged. "I have _so_ much to tell you!"

"Ok," I laughed, knowing Lissa would want to see me straight away. "Have you had breakfast?"

She laughed. "No, but come now and I'll feed you!"

I stood up, digging in my bag and finding some skinny jeans and a top.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," I promised. "Get the food ready!"

* * *

"So what's he like?" Lissa asked in awe after I'd finished describing meeting my father. I'd told her I'd managed to get a hold of my original birth certificate application and got his name from there. Technically, not a lie!

"A bit scary, really. But he's been nice to me," I added quickly.

"Is he really a mob boss?"

"I think so. Abe hinted at it, but Dimitri told me what he knew about him, and even Mom said his business dealings were shady."

We were sitting in the sunroom off the kitchen in the Ozera house. It seemed a bit pointless, to me, to have a sunroom in a house that ran on a nocturnal schedule, but that was Royals for you. I'd finished breakfast and Lissa, Christian and I were now catching up. I hadn't seen Tasha yet; Christian said she went running at this time every day. I hoped her route didn't take her anywhere near the Guardian gym!

"Rose, the daughter of a mob boss. Suddenly everything makes sense," Christian joked.

"Bite me fire boy," I growled at him, still feeling a bit sensitive about this new development in my life.

"You know if you'd stayed away another decade or so, I might have started to miss you," he snarked.

Lissa gave him a reproving look, and I poked my tongue out at him while her back was turned.

The rattle of the front door handle announced Tasha's return. She walked into the kitchen, wearing skin-tight workout pants and singlet.

"Rose!" she said with a friendly smile. "When did you get here?"

"A few hours ago," I said, doing my best to return her smile.

"Are you here for long?"

"I don't think so. Just here to debrief on the mission and then off to finish my training and do my trials at one of the other Academies," I said, forcing a smile.

"Oh? Is the mission over then? That means you'll be getting your favorite Guardian back," Tasha said, beaming at Lissa. "Did he come to Court with you?" she asked me.

"Yeah, he did. I'm not sure if he's resuming guarding or what the plan is. They haven't told us yet."

"Well, I'd love to catch up with him while he's here. I'll go give him a call."

"Maybe leave it a few hours," I suggested.

Tasha looked at me with surprise.

"He was going to spend the morning with Eddie. We were involved in an attack on the way back to St. Vladimir's, and Eddie made his first kills. It's a big thing, and he's a bit freaked out about it. We're probably being inked this afternoon, and I know Dimitri was going to try and spend some time with him before that."

Tasha nodded but wasn't pleased.

"Inked? Did you make some more kills?" Christian asked soberly.

"Five," I said seriously, not wanting to glorify it. All else aside, Christian's parents, Tasha's brother and sister-in-law, had turned Strigoi and been killed by Guardians. I knew Christian understood – his involvement in the defense of St. Vlad's proved that – but it must still hurt thinking about it.

"Oh my gosh! Is everyone alright?" Tasha gasped.

"I guess. Mom got a broken leg, and another Novice was bitten but is ok now."

"We should visit your mother," Lissa suggested, exactly as I knew she would. "What are her favorite flowers?"

* * *

"You ok, Eddie?" I asked later in the afternoon as we filed into a meeting room in Guardian Headquarters. Lissa and Christian had ended up ditching school for the day, so I'd still been visiting at their place when Stan had texted me the time we were due to be inked for the kills we'd made in the fight on the way back to the Academy.

"All good," he said, although he looked a little green.

Lissa, Christian, and Tasha moved to one side to sit with Geoff, Meredith's boyfriend. Or maybe it was ex? Elizaveta was already there sitting with Blake, and at the back with his chief Guardian, Pavel, was my father. I made my way to my seat at the side of the stage, sitting between Meredith and Artyom.

It was for the best Mom was still in the hospital and not here to witness this inking. I didn't think she'd appreciate Abe's presence, but when Lissa suggested I call him and tell him about the attack, and that I was being tattooed today, he'd been so keen to attend I didn't have the heart to say no.

 _Is that him?_ Lissa asked through the bond, her eyes flicking across to where Abe sat looking around him mildly amused.

I nodded imperceptively, laughing when Lissa's eyes widened with surprise. In a bright suit, and a technicolor scarf, Abe _looked_ shifty and every part the mob boss!

We were called up one by one; Alto, Belikov, Castile, Edwards, Hathaway, Vitsin. Dimitri took his top off when it was his turn, and from my seat at the side of the stage, it was impossible to miss Tasha's appreciative gaze. Normally other women checking out my man didn't bother me, but something about Tasha ogling him pissed me off.

Still – she didn't know he was mine, so I shouldn't blame her for admiring his physique, even though it annoyed the hell out of me.

His tattoos took the longest, Eddie's and Meredith's not taking long as they were getting two and one respectively. Then it was turn for me to get my five. I had nine now. Mom was right – it was a lot. More than Dimitri had when we'd met. He'd had six molnija at twenty-four, yet here I was – just eighteen and not yet graduated with nine as well as a zvezda. Dimitri had once said trouble seemed to follow me, and maybe he was right.

Once I was done it was Artyom's turn, and then we were finished. Eddie, Meredith, Dimitri and I walked across to where Lissa and the others were waiting.

"Dimitri!" Tasha greeted him enthusiastically. "Good to see you! I'm so glad you're back from your mission! I have the car here - we can pick up your things from the Guardian dorms after this. I've got a room ready for you at my place for when you start guarding Lissa again," she suggested with a grin.

"Thanks, Tasha, but I have some things to do this afternoon. Also, I'm not sure whether I'll resume guarding the Princess straight away. I need to wait for further orders, so it's appropriate I remain in the Guardian dorms until that is decided."

Tasha was disappointed, and through the bond, I could feel Lissa was feeling sympathetic. She knew Tasha had been hopeful Dimitri's stay under her roof might tempt him to become her Guardian.

There was an awkward pause that was interrupted when my father approached our little group. Crap! I hadn't considered whether he'd want to be introduced when I'd told him about the inking. Did he want to be known as my father? Did I want to be known as his daughter?! We shared a look where each of us seemed to say 'I'm game if you are,' so I motioned him forward.

"Tasha, Christian, and Lissa – can I present my father, Abe Mazur? Abe? This is my best friend Lissa Dragomir, her boyfriend Christian Ozera and his aunt Tasha," I said gesturing to each in turn. "Lissa and Christian are seniors at St. Vlad's like me, but came to finish the academic year here when the Academy closed," I explained.

Polite pleasantries were exchanged, and Abe was about to say something to Lissa when Elizaveta hissed "Zmey?"

She was standing off to one side of our group, and that she and Artyom knew of Abe was written all over their faces.

"That's right," he said, stepping forward and holding out his hand. "I'm Abe Mazur, Rose's father."


	25. Chapter 25

"Thanks so much for having us tonight, Mr. Mazur, Rose," Geoff said politely, shaking hands with my father as he and Meredith were shown into the private dining room Abe had booked for the evening. Geoff was obviously shitting himself conversing with the infamous Abe Mazur but had the good grace to thank my father for his dinner invitation.

"This is Meredith who was on the mission with me, and Geoff who was at St. Vlad's with us," I introduced. "My father, Abe Mazur." I hadn't had the chance to ask Meredith whether she and Geoff were still together or just friends now, so I kept it simple.

"So pleased you could make it," Abe beamed at them, gesturing a waiter forward with a tray laden with drinks.

I still couldn't believe I was here, in a private dining room in what was apparently the most exclusive restaurant at Court, sipping a flute of champagne and about to dine with my mission companions and friends here at Court.

It had been Abe's suggestion at the inking; a meal for him to meet everyone. So here we were – myself, Dimitri, Stan, the twins, Blake, Eddie, Meredith, Geoff, Lissa, Christian, and Tasha.

I was grateful for the private room. I doubt this restaurant had seen many Dhampir diners, and it was a relief to be in an area not overlooked by the rest of those eating. While I was sure the meals here were the best money could buy, I'd already had a quiet word with Abe about the need for _Dhampir_ sized portions. Most of us had become accustomed to the cheap, mass-produced stodge usually provided to Guardians and Novices, so the finer nuances of haute cuisine would probably be lost on us. But fresh, plentiful, quality food was always appreciated.

I'd had the chance for a quiet word with Abe after the inking, reiterating that no one knew about Dimitri and me, and likewise, not everyone knew that I had first met up with him during my mission. Accordingly, we'd agreed to keep the details about our relationship vague. Abe's formidable reputation was of help there - I think pretty much everyone present was too scared to question him too closely about _anything!_

I sat between Abe and Eddie, Dimitri opposite me seated between Lissa and Tasha. The others were distributed on either side along a long table checking out their menus.

"Anything take your fancy, Rose?" Abe asked genially. He seemed to be enjoying this very much, which was fortuitous as it would be costing him a bomb.

"Everything looks good," I said honestly.

"Order two meals if you can't decide. It doesn't matter if there are leftovers…"

"Chance would be a fine thing," Eddie chortled. "I've known Hathaway for years, and I don't think I've ever seen her leave food behind."

I turned and gave him a withering look.

"So, Mr. Mazur? Rose said you're here on business?" Lissa asked politely.

"Yes. I do some import and export, amongst other things. I'm here arranging for a shipment of Persian rugs," he said urbanely. I immediately wondered if that was a lie – or whether the rugs were wrapped around firearms?!

"Do you visit America often?" she continued.

"Usually only once a year, although more of my business is here now, so I hope to visit more often." He said the last words to me and gave me a tentative smile that made my heart feel warm. I think my Dad was suggesting he wanted to spend time with me!

Abe turned out to be an amusing dinner companion. He had a way of talking that put everyone at ease, and a hundred and one interesting stories about his travels.

"So how did you end up with Janine?" Tasha asked toward the end of the evening, admittedly after quite a few wines. "You don't seem at _all_ alike," she said with a laugh.

Even though I didn't like Tasha, I don't think she meant anything by her comment. But Abe certainly took exception to it. I could feel him tense slightly beside me before he glibly replied.

"Janine is a fine Guardian and has given me a beautiful daughter. Don't presume to know everything about her. Or me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest anything…" Tasha trailed off under Abe's unwavering stare.

"I'm glad to hear it," he said, abruptly turning to Stan and asking him about his duties at the Academy.

Dimitri looked mildly uncomfortable throughout dinner, although I couldn't figure out if it were due to Tasha's constant attempts for his attention, or my father's occasional questions. He gave me a stern look when he saw me drinking champagne when we first arrived and knowing he'd be cross if I overdid things, I stopped at one. It was almost 11 am by the time we wound up, and I could honestly say I'd had a pretty good time.

"Care to join me back at mine for a nightcap?" Tasha asked Dimitri hopefully.

"Thanks but no. I'm training at 6 pm so need my sleep," he said kindly but firmly.

"What about lunch tomorrow, then?" she persisted. "I haven't seen you since Christmas – I'd love to catch up."

I could tell my Russian God wasn't keen, but knew there was no getting out of it.

"Fine. How about the café near Guardian Headquarters? I'll text you a time when I know how my day is shaping up," he suggested.

Tasha's smile was radiant; mine a little less so.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow! I'd better get these kids home," she said, affectionately ruffling Christian's hair.

"I'll see you after school tomorrow," I promised Lissa.

 _I like him._ Lissa said to me through the bond. _He wasn't at all what I was expecting, but he seems very nice and keen to know you._

After saying goodbye to Abe, promising to spend some time with him tomorrow, I walked back to the Guardian dorms with the others.

"I can't believe Zmey is your father," Artyom said, falling into step beside me, Elizaveta on his other side. They'd accepted Abe's dinner invitation but had been down the other end of the table, so I hadn't spoken with them all evening.

"I can," Elizaveta snapped, implying it was a bad thing. And maybe to some, it was.

My father was a powerful player in our world, despite not being Royal. He didn't play by the rules, and he certainly didn't see things in the black and white way most of them did; lulled into complacency by years of privilege, wealth, and indulgence. My father was a self-made man, and if some of that wealth came at the expense of rich, lazy Royal Moroi, then I didn't have a problem with it!

"So how long have you known your father?" Artyom asked, trying to put it all together. That Abe hadn't known Lissa, my best friend, had not escaped him. He'd figured our relationship was relatively new.

"A while," I replied noncommittally in a tone of voice that suggested he drop the topic. "So you must be looking forward to returning to St. Basil's?"

"Not really," he said with a sigh. "Classes and practice will seem dull after living over here." He looked at me sideways for a moment.

"I haven't had an opportunity to speak with you about it until now, but I'd like to thank you for everything you did in the fight for my sister and me. One or both of us could have been killed if it wasn't for you."

Elizaveta made a dismissive noise, and I was surprised to see Artyom turn to her and say something sharply to her in Russian.

"We'd also appreciate it if you could not say anything about Veta's battle freeze."

"I _didn't_ freeze!" Elizaveta hissed, earning looks from both of us.

"Veta, you froze," Artyom declared, raising his voice until he was shouting. "Rose saw it, so did Eddie, Meredith, Blake and the Guardians. Stop denying it and stop blaming Rose!"

Our group had stopped walking, and everyone was looking at her. The silence stretched – no one knowing what to say. Just when it was getting really awkward, Stan stepped forward.

"I froze in my first battle," he admitted to her quietly, looking her in the eye. "I was lucky – it was a big fight, and there were enough other Guardians there to keep me safe. Just because you freeze once, doesn't mean you will again," he promised, taking in her woebegone expression.

"Is that how you ended up at the Academy?" I asked, the words out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop them.

Stan turned to me, and I braced expecting a dressing down. It was a very personal question, after all. So I was relieved when a strange expression crossed his face, and he sighed.

"No. I ended up at the Academy for beating a Royal Moroi who tried to force himself on a sixteen-year-old Dhampir girl."

We were all Dhampir here, and Guardians, or in training to be one. We knew Stan was lucky to have kept his title for beating a Moroi, particularly a Royal. It was the sort of admission it was hard to respond to.

"You did the right thing," I said softly, giving him an apologetic look.

"I know," he said, turning back to Elizaveta, encouraging her to walk beside him as he gave her the sort of reassurance that only one who had been through it could give.

* * *

"Did you know that about Stan?" I asked a little later as Dimitri sat on my bed.

"Yes. Both things. It wasn't my place to tell."

I sighed. The more I got to know Stan, the more I could see he wasn't so bad as I'd once thought. Not that I'd give him, or Dimitri, the pleasure of knowing that. Admitting to anyone you'd frozen in battle was huge – yet he'd done so just to comfort Elizaveta. I shook my head, clearing it slightly.

"So lunch tomorrow?" I said.

"I couldn't get out of it without being rude," he said, "and she is a friend."

"I know," I watched him carefully as I continued. "She hasn't given up on the idea of you and her you know," I said.

"Roza she _has,"_ he said sounding exasperated. "You have nothing to worry about!"

"She asked Lissa to release you as her Guardian so you could instead guard her. That doesn't sound like a woman who's given up."

"Are you sure?" he said in a tone of voice that hinted he might not believe me.

"Well I don't think Lissa would lie about that, do you?" I said stiffly.

"When did she suggest this?" Dimitri asked, rubbing the top of his nose with his hand.

"A couple of weeks ago. I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier. I meant to, and then all the stuff with Abe happened."

"Well, it doesn't matter what she wants. I want _you,_ ангел. That's not going to change."

"I just hate the way she looks at you," I grumbled, knowing I sounded insecure.

"Now you know how I felt with Artyom looking at you all the time," Dimitri smirked raising his eyebrow in the way that irritated me.

"Oh shut up," I said, belting him with a pillow before sitting across his lap and getting some kisses.

"I'd better go, Roza," he sighed.

I pouted, even though I knew he was right. Now everyone knew we were at Court, it wasn't safe to spend the night together, no matter how much I wanted to.

"I'll be dreaming of you," I said, claiming a final kiss before sending him next door to his room.

* * *

I rolled over and looked at the clock. Just before 6 pm. Ugh! Being awake at this hour should be illegal! I groaned and put a pillow over my head, only to hear the knocking again.

"Dimitri? It's Tasha. I thought I'd join you for your workout?" I heard Tasha say quietly at Dimitri's door.

Man, he'd been right. The Guardian dorm rooms really _weren't_ very soundproof. I climbed out of bed, hair askew and opened my door, stepping out into the hallway.

"Hi Tasha," I said, aiming for friendly but probably falling short. "I think you might have missed him," I said loud enough I hope my Russian God would hear. "I heard a door close out here about ten minutes ago."

Tasha was wearing skin tight workout clothes, her hair up in an artfully styled ponytail and with subtle makeup on.

"Oh that's a pity," she said. "I know he likes to run in the mornings, so I thought I'd join him. Any idea where he went or when he might be back?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Sorry," I apologized, not meaning it.

I was about to close the door to my room when Tasha said, "I've never seen the Guardian dorm rooms. Are they comfortable?"

I shrugged. I knew I had nothing to hide, so I pushed open my door to its fullest, allowing Tasha to see the entire room. The bathroom door was open, so she could see no one was in there. I wonder if she'd thought there might have been?

"They're not much décor wise," I joked. A plain white room with serviceable furniture, the Guardian dorms wouldn't be winning any design awards. "Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to get dressed for training, myself."

"Of course. Where are you going?"

"Not sure, yet. Eddie, Meredith and I will probably go check out one of the Guardian gyms," I lied glibly.

"Well enjoy! And if you see Dimitri can you tell him I dropped by?" she asked.

"Sure thing," I smiled, closing the door as she walked off down the corridor.

I gave her a few minutes, watching from my window as she left the front of the building. Slipping out of my room again, I knocked on Dimitri's door.

"It's Rose," I hissed.

The door opened immediately, and I was pulled inside.

"It's too early. Let's go back to bed," my Russian God groaned softly.

It sounded like a good idea, to me, so we climbed into the bed together, lying entwined in one another's arms.

"You're right. She hasn't given up," Dimitri admitted apologetically.

"No, she hasn't," I agreed.

"I'll make it clear at lunch today I'm not interested," he promised, nuzzling against my hair and whispering words of love and endearment as he started gently kissing my neck.

* * *

"You're looking happy this morning," Eddie said with a smile, joining the table where Dimitri, Stan, Meredith, Blake, the twins and I sat. We'd all got the call to come to Guardian Headquarters to debrief about the mission. I wasn't sure what that entailed, but it was pretty simple, in the end. Most Q and A, they asked us a few questions about our observations, particularly relating to the Alchemists.

"Novice Hathaway? I believe you visited the main house at the facility?" I knew they were referring to the time I visited with Mom, but my heart was pounding nonetheless!

"I did," I replied, outlining everything I could remember from both visits. The Guardian in charge jotted it all down before declaring us done and the mission a success.

"Her Majesty asked me to convey her personal thanks for your professionalism on this sensitive mission," he intoned, passing each of us a crown-shaped pin. "Novices Vitsin, transport back to St. Basil's has been organized for you, and you will be collected from the Guardian dorm block at 5 am. Novices Ayett, Castile, Edwards, and Hathaway – you'll receive your instructions this afternoon sometime. Guardians Alto and Belikov, you have an appointment here tomorrow for your allocations," he said before excusing himself from the room.

"Don't lose that," Alto said pointing to the pin I held in my hand. "That's a Queen's Badge. They're given in recognition of personal service to her Majesty. They're really rare."

I pinned mine to my shirt, helping Eddie do likewise. With a few more words we started to go our separate ways; Dimitri to have lunch with Tasha, the twins to see more of Court then pack, Blake to check out a store in the shopping area, and Meredith to see Geoff who'd taken the day off to spend with her.

"Hathaway? What are you doing?" Eddie asked, the only other one at a loose end.

"I was going to see if Abe was free," I admitted. "Did you want to come?"

"Nah. I wouldn't want to intrude."

"I don't think he'll mind," I said confidently. "I was just going to hang out and wait to find out where we're posted. Hang on; I'll text him."

 _Abe – got until 4 am off. If you're free, I thought I might come over with Eddie and hang out? We're waiting to hear where we're being sent to finish off our training._

The answer came back almost immediately.

 _Sounds good. I'll have lunch ready, see you soon_ followed by an address.

I showed Eddie my phone.

"Well if he's putting on food…" he accepted with a grin. Like me, Eddie was a bottomless pit.

"Call me when you're done with Tasha," I said to Dimitri giving him a loving look as the three of us walked out the front of the building together. We split up there, Dimitri walking one way to a café, Eddie and I going in the other direction to Abe's.

"This is quite a place," Eddie said admiringly as we fronted up outside a three-storey terrace house in what was unmistakably the rich part of town.

"I think they expect lowly Dhampir like us to enter by the service stairs," I joked nervously, pointing to the stairs that ran down to the basement level.

"Do you think we should?" Eddie whispered, looking about him nervously.

"No. This is my father's house; I'm not going in the servant's entrance," I said with a bravado I didn't entirely feel.

The door was answered by Pavel.

"Come on in. Your father is waiting for you, Rose." I liked Pavel. He'd been there every time I'd met with Abe and seemed to be a nice guy. He had an easy way of interacting with Abe – like they were friends as well as Guardian and Charge. It reminded me of my relationship with Lissa.

We followed Pavel through the house and into a living room on the ground floor.

"Fancy place you've got," I joked, going over to kiss Abe on the cheek when he stood up to greet us. It was our first physical affection, but it felt natural.

"I rent it when I'm in town," he replied. "Come sit – have lunch!"

I grinned looking at the huge spread in front of us; Italian sandwiches with lots of fillings. Pavel joined us at the table, and we helped ourselves.

"How did the debrief go?" Abe asked.

"Yeah good. The mission is officially over, so now we're just waiting to hear where we're going to graduate from," I told him between mouthfuls.

"You don't get to choose?"

"Nope. Apparently, they're ringing around to see where has space. A lot of the Academies are full."

"I hope it's somewhere good," Eddie chimed in. Both of us were a little keyed up about where we would end up.

We'd just finished lunch, and I was toying with my phone waiting for Dimitri to call when the screen lit up.

"It's a Montana number," I muttered, answering. It was Alberta.

"Rose. How are you enjoying Court?"

"Yeah, good thanks."

"How's your Mom?"

"She's ok. Being a pain to everyone at the hospital no doubt," I said, feeling guilty I'd not visited her. I'd go with Lissa after she got out of school this afternoon.

"Right, well. I'm ringing up to tell you where you're going for your last six weeks of training," Alberta said, sounding a little nervous. "You'll take your trails and graduate there, too."

"I'm here with Eddie, so you can speak with him after me if you want," I told her.

"Yes. Well, you're headed to the same place," she explained before mentioning where we'd be going.

I paused and took a deep breath before replying.

"Are you fucking _kidding_ me?!"


	26. Chapter 26

"Kansas!" I wailed. "But St. Michael's is the ass end of the universe. It has the worst reputation! I don't want to graduate from there!"

"I'm sorry, Rose. I understand it's disappointing, but nowhere else had room. Every Academy has already taken as many as they could. All four of you St. Vladimir's Novices will be going to Kansas." Alberta was using her 'tough love' voice, so I knew the decision was final.

"That's bullshit!" I exclaimed. "Everyone will assume we don't know one end of a stake from another if we do our trials there!" I burst into bitter tears, looking at Abe and Eddie in horror. I pointed at Eddie to let him know him too. _"Surely_ there is another option?" I moaned.

"Short of a fairy godmother whisking you away and training you privately for six weeks, _no!"_

"But Alberta! We worked our asses off on the mission. We've fought Strigoi, and I had to live with my _mother_ for almost two months! I have nine fucking molnija and a zvezda. It's _not fair!"_

"I'm sorry, Rose, but that's the way it is. There simply isn't room anywhere else. The dorms are all full. There's a plane leaving for St. Michael's from Court the day after tomorrow, and you, Eddie, Meredith, and Blake will be on it."

"Thanks for nothing," I said furiously, hanging up the phone in a fit of pique.

I was too angry to say anything for a minute, but Eddie's sober expression said it all.

"So. St. Michael's, eh? All of us?"

I nodded.

"We all worked so fucking hard! We're top of our year! I can't believe they'd send us there! It's so unfair! People who can barely fight will be graduating from The Glen, St. Christopher's or St. Basil's, and for the rest of our lives we'll be branded as losers from St. Michael's!"

"Did she say why?" Eddie asked reasonably, wanting to know all the details.

"She said all the other Academies are full. There's nowhere for us to sleep."

"What's the problem with St. Michael's?" Abe asked although I could tell by Pavel's face he knew why I was so upset.

"Every Academy has its own particular strength in their Dhampir training program," Eddie explained. "The Glen turn out Guardians who are amazing strategists. St. Basil's always produce the best fighters and St. Vlad's Guardians are generally the best connected with Royal Moroi."

"And St. Michael's?"

"St. Michael's is literally in the middle of nowhere. No one wants to be there, so anyone who can leaves. Their teaching staff are hopeless, very few Moroi attend, and I've heard half the day they spend working the fields rather than training as Guardians," I wailed. Ok – I wasn't 100% sure on that last part, but that's what I'd heard!

"Surely there must be another option?" Abe asked.

"Not unless there's a fairy godmother who wants to whisk me away to train for six weeks," I groaned. "Alberta's words, not mine!"

"Alberta?"

"Guardian Alberta Petrov – Captain of the Guard at St. Vladimir's."

I was still crying – mostly out of anger. Abe opened his arms to me, and I stepped into them. He hugged me for a moment before we both got a little embarrassed and I stepped back. But it had felt good.

"So what's involved in graduating?" Abe asked. "You train and then…?"

Pavel stepped in, looking at Abe shrewdly.

"It depends on which Academy. At St. Basil's, where I trained, the trials take place over two or three days. They are private, and each Novice is given an individual time and location for theirs. Each trial takes an hour or so and it from this that a Novice's training score is calculated. The Novices then graduate, and over the next few days, there are elimination fights. Not everyone takes part, but these are done on a house against house basis, and are open for observation. The idea being Moroi will know the training scores, and can observe the fighting style of the newly graduated Guardians, and make allocation requests accordingly. But it's not just for positions. The best fighters earn a huge amount of kudos, and it can also help boost their ranking and commencing pay rate."

Abe was listening, taking it all in.

"And it's done differently elsewhere?"

"Yes. Every Academy handles things in their own way," I supplied gloomily. "St. Michael's probably has a line dancing competition!"

"It can't be _that_ bad?" Abe asked with a smirk.

"Honestly, Mr. Mazur, I think it might be worse," Eddie said dismally.

"And the problem is accommodation?" he clarified.

"I think so. Alberta said the dorms were full, but I suppose the classes probably are too? She said the only other way was private training for six weeks."

"So where would you go if you could choose?" he asked thoughtfully.

I considered it. Once I would have said St. Christopher's – but after hearing Dimitri and then the twins sing the praises of St. Basil's, if I could, I'd go there.

"St. Basil's," I declared. "It has the best fighters. Artyom and Elizaveta are meant to be the top of their year. Eddie and I owned them almost every time we fought while on our mission. I think I'd have a real chance of topping the leaderboard, there."

I didn't want to say it, but I knew I could best Eddie most of the time – so I wasn't being fanciful when I said I thought I had a shot at being the overall winner.

Pavel and Abe were staring at one another and then slipped into what sounded like Russian for a couple of minutes.

"Is there a curriculum? For training?"

"Um? I _think_ so," I said. "Dimitri would know for sure. He's mentored me since September last year…"

Almost as soon as I said his name, my phone lit up with his number.

"Hey," I said distractedly.

"Hey. I'm done with lunch. Where are you?"

"At Abe's with Eddie. Can you come on over?"

"Sure. Is everything ok?"

"Not really," I said softly. "I'll tell you when you get here."

I rattled off the address and basic instructions on how to get here. It wasn't _that_ far from Guardian Headquarters, so he shouldn't be too long. In fact, it was only ten minutes later when we heard a knock at the door and Dimitri came in, his eyes locking with my own.

"Roza… What's wrong?"

"They want to send me to _Kansas,_ Comrade!" I wailed, throwing myself into his arms.

* * *

"You'd need approval for Rose to do her trials there, and it would be beneficial if she could take part in the elimination fights, but beyond that training could really be done anywhere," Dimitri said as I was tucked beneath his arm on the sofa.

I'd explained to Abe that Eddie knew about Dimitri and I so we didn't hide in front of him.

"And the curriculum?" Pavel asked.

"I've got a copy along with my training notes for Rose," he replied.

"You have training notes for me? What do they say?! _'Rose looked cute in her sports bra today'"_ I said doing a poor imitation of Dimitri's deep voice and accent.

Eddie spluttered and nearly sprayed the water he was drinking across the room, and Dimitri glared at me.

"Nothing like that," he said frostily. "It's a record of your weights, reps, running times, sparring form, injuries, and other _training_ statistics."

"So I _didn't_ look cute in any of my sports bras?" I teased, enjoying my lover's face going beetroot red. Dimitri was private at the best of times, and talking about him noticing me in a bra in front of my father was too much for him.

"Leave the poor man alone," Abe laughed, coming to my Russian God's rescue. "How do you recommend going about this?" he asked Dimitri.

"If you can get approval from St. Basil's, then I can't see Alberta disagreeing," Dimitri mused. "She cares for Rose a great deal, and provided the training was genuine and robust, I am sure she'd approve it."

"I wish you could continue to train me," I sighed, nuzzling against my lover's side.

"So do I, ангел. But it isn't possible."

"Why not?" Abe challenged.

"Well because if I drop everything to train Rose, there's bound to be questions about our relationship! Besides which, I am a Guardian. I have to go where I'm sent."

"Who decides that? Where you go I mean?"

"Well, technically I am employed by St. Vladimir's and allocated to Vasilisa Dragomir. So I suppose it's up to Alberta."

"So if she allocated you to train Rose you could?" he pressed.

"I suppose so, but I can't see her doing it."

"What if it wasn't just Rose? What if it were Eddie here, too? That would make it more respectable. And it would make sense that St. Vladimir's top male and female fighters were sent to St. Basil's for their trials," he mused.

Dimitri considered the matter while Eddie and I looked at each other with cautious excitement.

My love shook his head.

"I can't see it working. Ideally, I'd need to train them in Russia, so they're acclimatized and already there for their trials. There's accommodation, gym, and food – not to mention the flights and other expenses. Even if I could get Alberta to agree to it in principle, she'd never have the resources to fund it."

"Don't worry about that part. I'll bankroll the whole thing," Abe immediately offered. "So where in Russia?"

I looked into my love's eyes and saw longing.

"What about Baia?" I suggested, taking Dimitri's hand and kissing it. "I know you've been missing home, Comrade, and it's close enough to St. Basil's isn't it?"

His face lit up.

"That's not such a bad idea! We could stay at Mama's house. She's used to cooking for an army, and she'd love having me home and meeting you. There's a Dhampir gym in town, so we could use that. In fact, it would be handy to have you spar against those who work out there."

"I can rent a house in Baia and base myself there for the duration with my Guardians," Abe added. "They could help with the training, and Rose and I can continue getting to know each other," he said positively.

"Do you think we could pull it off?" I asked looking between my love and my father.

"Rose if you want it, I'll do whatever I can to make it happen," Abe said seriously.

"So how do we organize this?" Dimitri asked, starting to look cautiously excited.

"I'll call Demyan and ask about that aspect," Pavel volunteered. "We went to school together, and he owes me some favors."

"Demyan?" I asked Dimitri.

"Guardian Demyan Sokolov. He is Alberta's equivalent at St. Basil's," he explained.

Pavel had his phone out and was soon engaged in a genial conversation in Russian. After a few minutes he appeared to be talking turkey, and I heard my name mentioned as well as Abe's and finally Dimitri's. I kept watching Dimitri's face as he listened to Pavel's side of the conversation.

He nodded and gave a huge smile. It looks like we had a go ahead from St. Basil's!

Pavel rang off and laughed.

"Demyan was surprised to hear from me, but not when I said your names. Guardian Petrov from your Academy had begged him to find space for you. Provided you train and stay off-campus until a couple of days before, he can accommodate you in the trials, graduation and the elimination fights."

Eddie and I high-fived in excitement. It looked like this was going to happen!

"I'll call Mama and ask her if we can stay," Dimitri announced, pulling out his phone.

"It's alright if you can't. You're all welcome to stay with me," Abe said.

"Thank you, but I think Mama will want us with her. It's been a long time since I've been home, and she'll want to get to know Roza," he said, his eyes caressing me fondly.

Eddie and I listened to another conversation in Russian while Abe and Pavel left the room to discuss other logistics. I couldn't understand pretty much anything Dimitri was saying, but I knew he'd told his mother he would be coming home when I heard excited shrieking from his cell. Dimitri was laughing; his face lit up with a gorgeous, happy smile. He spoke only a little longer before ringing off.

"As I expected, Mama is happy for you both to stay," he announced, leaning over and kissing my temple affectionately.

"Hey, Eddie – I didn't actually ask – I just assumed you'd want to come to…" I said.

"I'm good," he grinned. "If someone wants to help me graduate from the best Academy in the world, I'm not going to object!"

"Two down, one to go," I announced with a smile when Abe came back into the room. "Now to get Alberta to agree! I'll do that one," I offered.

I dialed Alberta's number, giggling when she picked up.

"Well… he doesn't have wings or a wand, but my father has organized a private training program for me," I announced triumphantly.

"Your… _what?_ Back up the truck and start from the beginning," Alberta said before lapsing into stunned silence.

"Well… I didn't say anything when I was there, but I've met my father. His name is Abe Mazur, and he's Turkish, but lives in Russia."

I heard Alberta's sharp hiss, so I guess she knew who Abe was.

"Anyway, Eddie and I are at his place at Court, and when he found out we'd got Kansas and the only way out of it was to get private training, he offered to fund a private program for us. He's got approval from Guardian Sokolov at St. Basil's for us to do our trials, graduate and do the elimination fights there."

"And who will train you?" she asked cautiously.

"Well… Guardian Belikov _really_ wants to see his family, and Lissa is well guarded at Court so doesn't need him right now. He said he'd train us in his hometown of Baia. My father's going to be there, and he has lots of private Guardians who can help train us. And after the mission, Eddie and I are already used to training with Guardian Belikov…"

"You have it all worked out, don't you?" she laughed. "Let me guess – you just need me to agree to it and give Belikov permission?"

"Pretty much," I said smugly.

"Is Belikov there with you?" she asked.

"Yep."

"Well put him on then," she said, not without a hint of a smile in her voice.

Dimitri spoke with Alberta for a few minutes before handing the phone back to me.

"So…?" I asked expectantly.

"You and Castile can go. Edwards and Ayett will go to St. Michael's," Alberta said.

"Shit! I forgot about Meredith," I groaned looking at Eddie with guilty eyes.

Abe nudged Dimitri who shrugged.

"One more won't hurt," he said. Meredith knew about him and ,me and hadn't said a word. It would be a nice way of repaying her.

"Alberta? We'll take Meredith too if she wants to come. I'll ask her."

"That's very generous," Alberta said a little suspiciously.

"She's a decent fighter and a nice person. She doesn't deserve St. Michael's," I said a little disdainfully.

"No. None of you three do," she admitted. "I'll ring the allocations office and let them know Dimitri will be temporarily deployed to Russia to train the three of you. So… how is your mother handling you knowing your father?" she asked.

"Oh, Alberta – don't even _go_ there!" I laughed.

* * *

The three of us left Abe's around 4 am. I'd promised to visit Lissa, and Dimitri and Eddie decided to tag along. Abe was organizing the logistics of getting us to Russia. I was over the moon until I suddenly remembered I didn't have a passport. I rang Abe in a panic, outlining the cause of my distress. Abe assured me it wouldn't be an issue. We'd be traveling on a private plane, so trivialities like visas and passports wouldn't apply to us. I had to say – this rich mobster thing was starting to grow on me!

I rang Meredith on the way to Lissa's, and she'd been speechless when I offered her the chance of graduating from St. Basil's and training with Eddie and me in Baia instead of St. Michael's.

"And we'd be staying at Guardian Belikov's house with his family?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah. With his mom, sisters, and grandmother. He hasn't been home in almost three years. He misses his family, and this way he can see them and help us train. My father is going to pay for our food, expenses, flights and all that."

"It's a generous offer, and I'd like to accept, but why would your father spend his money on me?" she pondered.

"Well… part of it is because if Dimitri and I take off overseas alone, it will raise questions. If he's training a few of us, it's more respectable. But also Abe feels for us. We've all worked hard, and it's not fair we get sent to St. Michael's just because no one else can fit us in!"

She was silent for a moment.

"You don't have to buy my silence about you and Guardian Belikov if that's what this is about," she finally said. "I won't tell anyone even if I do go to St. Michael's."

"I know that," I reassured her. "And it's not that. But you've been kind to us, and now we're in a position to repay the favor. It's really no bother – Eddie and I are going anyway…"

"Then I'm in!" she said with a nervous laugh.

I was in fine spirits when we arrived at the Ozera house. Between the briefing, the news about our deployments and then organizing an alternative, I'd barely had time to draw breath, and now the fact I was going to Russia with Dimitri was sinking in.

"You look happy!" Lissa said opening the door.

"I _am_ happy!" I said, surprising her by grabbing her and giving her a huge hug.

"Come in and tell me all about it," Lissa said, motioning us all inside.

"Dimka!" Tasha greeted as we walked into the living room. "What a pleasant surprise!"

Her eyes sparkled, and there was a pretty blush forming on her cheeks. Whatever Dimitri had told her at lunch, it obviously hadn't been clear enough.

"So what's your big news?" Lissa asked once we were all seated.

"Well… We got our allocations for the next six weeks, and we got… _Kansas!"_ I said with a huge grin.

"I thought you didn't want Kansas?" Lissa asked in confusion.

"Well, I didn't. In fact, I was a bit upset about it."

"She pitched a fit, hung up on Alberta and burst into tears," Eddie butted in, also with a huge grin.

I shot him a warning look.

"Anyway, I was explaining to Abe that St. Michael's sucks, but we had to go there as there was nowhere else with the room because they'd taken Novices across all year levels. The only alternative was private training for six weeks."

"And?" Christian asked impatiently.

"And, fire boy," I said, too happy to even let his rudeness annoy me, "Abe is paying for Eddie, Meredith and me to go to Baia in Russia. He's going to stay there for six weeks, and Dimitri is going to come too and train us!"

Lissa's eyes flicked quickly to Tasha, and I could see her sympathetic look before she composed herself.

"That's very kind of you, Guardian Belikov," Lissa murmured.

"Not really," Dimitri replied with a small chuckle. "My family are in Baia, and I haven't seen them in close to three years. When Mr. Mazur mentioned training Rose and the others in Russia, and asked if I was interested, it was too good an opportunity to pass up."

"Abe has a contact at St. Basil's, and we can graduate and do our trials there, so we rang Alberta, and she approved Eddie, Meredith and me for private training and allocated Dimitri to do the training. We're off to Russia!"

I was almost bouncing out of my seat with excitement, and I could tell through the bond Lissa was thrilled for us, although disappointed for Tasha.

"I'm going to miss you," she said with a sad smile, "but I understand it's the best outcome for you. When are you going?"

"Abe's still figuring it out, but probably late tonight or early tomorrow. I thought we could go see Mom together and then I'll go pack?"

"You don't want to see your mother alone?" Lissa asked naively.

"And tell her Abe is flying me, two classmates and a trainer overseas, and I'll be spending six weeks getting to know him? No. Funnily enough, I think I'd prefer a witness when she murders me…"


	27. Chapter 27

"Hey Mom," I said with a forced cheerfulness as I walked into her hospital room followed by Lissa. We'd stopped at a florist along the way, Lissa picking up a very pretty bunch of hortensias. I probably should have got her something, too, but I had next to no money and Mom probably wouldn't appreciate the gesture anyway.

"Guardian Hathaway," Lissa said pleasantly. "Please don't get up," she quickly added as Mom tried to raise herself out of bed.

"Princess Dragomir," she greeted, giving me a stern look. Oops. Maybe I should have warned Mom we were coming.

"Everything ok? Are they treating you well? Do you need anything?" I asked.

"Fine, thank you, Rosemarie. How did the debriefing go? Have you submitted your reports?"

"All done. Guardian Alto checked them over. Got our molnija, too."

"Give me a look then," she said, touching my neck in what could _almost_ be described as a caress.

"They did a nice job," she said, trailing off. Neither of us had much to say.

"They're pretty," I said, pointing to a bright bunch of flowers on her windowsill.

"Thank you. Elizaveta and Artyom brought them," she said with what sounded like a note of recrimination. "They visited earlier to say goodbye."

"That was kind of them," I said, refusing to rise to the implied criticism – that they'd found the time to visit when I hadn't.

"Will you be in here long, Guardian Hathaway?" Lissa asked abruptly, trying to change the subject.

"Hopefully not too long. The doctor said all going well I'll be discharged at the end of the week, but I'll be temporarily allocated to a desk job for a month or so." Mom scrunched up her nose, making her thoughts about a desk job clear. I suppose we were more alike than I realized, sometimes.

"It's not for long," I said reassuringly.

"Yes, I know. Are you all set to go to St. Michael's?"

"Oh, you know about that then?"

"Yes. Alberta said there was nowhere else with room," she stated.

"Well about that… Eddie, Meredith and I are going to train privately and graduate from St. Basil's."

"How did that come about?" my mother asked sharply, and for a moment I wondered whether she'd _wanted_ me to go to St. Michael's. Whether seeing me graduate from the lowliest Academy was part of her plan.

"Well… Eddie and I were visiting Abe at his place at Court when the call came through. We were both really disappointed, so Abe called in some favors at St. Basil's and as long as we stay and train elsewhere, we can do our trials and graduate from there."

It was like ripping a band aid off – I hoped if I did it fast it would hurt less.

"Abe is at Court? And you're visiting him? With your _friends?!"_

Mom's face was getting more florid by the second, and I could see her push herself further up in the bed – perhaps so her diaphragm was fully extended so her shouting would be all the more potent. I shot Lissa a warning look. I might not have grown up with Mom regularly in my life, but I recognized the signs that she was building up to an explosion.

"Yes."

"And do they know who Abe _is?"_ she asked, her voice quavering dangerously.

"Yes. Abe took everyone out for dinner last night after our inking ceremony."

"He's so proud of Rose. We all are," Lissa said supportively, not appreciating this would make my mother even angrier.

"Princess Dragomir, could you give me a moment with my daughter, please?" Mom asked, her teeth gritted.

Lissa looked at me apologetically before putting the flowers on Mom's bedside and turning to leave the room.

"I'll wait for you outside, Rose. It was nice to see you again Guardian Hathaway. I hope you're feeling better soon."

Mom managed to contain her fury until Lissa departed, thoughtfully shutting the door behind her.

"You took it open yourself to announce your… connection… to the world?" she shouted furiously. "What gives you the _right?!"_

"He's my father. _That's_ what gives me the right," I said, trying to remain calm. "He isn't embarrassed or ashamed of me, and he wants to get to know me! He's flying Eddie, Meredith and I to Russia, is helping organize our training, accommodation, and expenses for a month and a half, and pulled strings to get us to graduate at St. Basil's…"

"That's just _money!_ I'm sorry I can't afford to do that. I suppose you're going to hold _that_ against me, too?" she interrupted loudly.

"It's not the fact he's paying," I shouted. "It's not about the money! It's the fact he _wanted_ _to help!_ He's been nothing but kind and loving to me. Why shouldn't people know I have a dad?!"

"He's not your Dad! That title has to be _earned!"_

"The same could be said of 'Mom'" I said quietly. She didn't react, but I knew she'd heard me. And after that, there really wasn't much else to say.

"I'll be leaving tonight or tomorrow. We're staying with Dimitri's family in Baia, and he's coordinating the training program for the three of us. Lissa's upgraded my phone plan, so if you want to talk, just call."

I turned and walked from the room; trying to look composed, although inside I was falling apart.

"I'm sorry," Lissa said seeing my face. She'd overheard everything. And, for once, even Lissa seemed to be at a loss for words; unable to put a happy spin on this.

I shrugged as if to say 'what can you do.'

* * *

"Are you sure you want to go?"

It was Tasha's voice. Lissa and I had come back to the house after seeing Mom, and Christian and Tasha had invited the whole gang for a barbecue dinner. Tasha was standing in her kitchen with Dimitri, talking to him while the rest of us were outside as Christian worked the grill. The guy might be a pain in the ass at times, but his cooking made it worth putting up with him; especially when he was cooking steak!

"Tasha, it's an amazing opportunity for me," Dimitri said reasonably. "I could never afford to go back to Russia – especially for so long. The Princess is well guarded here, and Mr. Mazur has offered to pay all my expenses. I miss my family. This way I'll get to stay with them for _six weeks!"_

"Yes, but three extra people plus yourself… All of you training… You'll spend half the time eating. The food is a lot for your mother to afford," she suggested, trying a different tack.

"Abe knows that, and he'll be paying Mama generously to cover any expenses."

"But it's Zmey you're dealing with. How can you be sure he will honor his word?" she demanded. "How can you _trust_ him?"

"I trust him because Rose is his daughter. He wants her to be happy, Tasha."

"Then why can't they stay with him?" she asked bitterly.

"He suggested that but there's room at Mama's and I have to be up early to train them – it's easier if they're where I am. Besides, things are still new between Rose and her father. I think their own space will be good for them as they get to know each other better."

"You need to be careful. People might start to doubt your commitment to Lissa," she stated, changing arguments again.

"I'm a Guardian, Tasha. I go where I'm sent, and this is where it's been decided I'm going." His tone was frosty, and I could tell he was getting annoyed.

I moved forward, intentionally making noise as I did to alert them to my presence.

"Comrade? Got those drinks? Some of us are dying of thirst out there!" I teased, grabbing the beers and sodas he'd been getting from his hand and turning to head back outside.

"Rose? You must be excited about Russia? You're lucky your father is willing to buy you whatever you want." It was hard to miss the resentment in Tasha's voice.

"Well it's going to be an experience, that's for sure," I said. "But if it helps me train to protect Lissa better, then I'm all for it."

"You're all for what, little Dhampir?" Adrian asked as he entered the kitchen, draping an arm around me. "A hot night between the sheets with yours truly?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Tempting as that is," I said in a voice which declared it anything but, "I was talking about protecting Lissa."

"Ahh… The one you'd do anything for… Or _one_ of them…" he said meaningfully, glancing at Dimitri with a smirk. Thank goodness Tasha missed that.

"Yes, and we all know the other thing I'd do anything for is _food._ Now move it, lover boy. If I miss out on a steak because of your drunken ramblings, you're going to discover the meaning of hangry!" I joked, carefully extricating myself from Adrian's embrace and moving out of his reach.

"Good luck, Belikov," Adrian laughed as he followed me from the room. "She may be small, but she is fierce."

We sat around the outdoor table, eating as we watched the sun rise. I didn't need our bond to see how happy Lissa was. It wasn't being at Court; it was being with fire boy. The two of them sat side-by-side holding hands, listening to the playful banter at the table. There was none of the usual nervous tension through the bond, and it was with a pang I realized in some ways Christian was better at calming her than I was.

Dimitri was seated diagonally opposite me, between Eddie and Celeste.

"So Russia then Lehigh?" Celeste asked Dimitri as she casually picked at a chicken drumstick.

"It's looking that way," he said, his eyes meeting mine for a moment, a glimmer of hope in their depths. "What about you?"

"Well, we'll see what happens. Back to the Academy, I guess, although I'm putting in for a transfer," she said nonchalantly. "Can I list you as a referee?"

"Of course." As the senior partner, it made sense Dimitri would provide a reference for Celeste.

"Thanks. Alberta said she would, too, and she's keeping an eye out to see if anything suitable comes up."

While officially Guardians got little say in where they were sent, the best positions tended to be filled by recommendation – so with Alberta looking out for her, Celeste had a good chance of getting something good.

"You don't fancy going to College though do you?" Tasha laughed at Dimitri dismissively, watching him closely.

"Actually, I'm looking forward to it," he said putting an end to the conversation.

Other people were starting to pick up on the weird tension going on between the two of them. Eddie gave me a 'what's up with them?' look, and I shrugged, shaking my head to tell him to drop it.

After dinner, Eddie and Christian cleared the table, Dimitri, Tasha, Adrian and Celeste went to play pool while Lissa and I sat out the back.

"You look happy," I commented.

"I am. But I wish you could stay at Court. I haven't had a chance to show you anything," she grumbled.

"You saw Mom. I want to be as far from Court as possible right now," I joked, but there was a brittle edge to my mirth.

"But _Russia?"_

"St. Basil's has the best reputation. If I place well in their elimination fights, it will be hard for them to allocate me to anyone but you."

"I know," Lissa sighed. "I just miss you!"

"I miss you too," I said, "but it's only six weeks, and I want to get to know Abe as well. I was never going to be able to stay at Court," I reasoned.

"Tasha is disappointed Guardian Belikov won't be replacing Emil," Lissa observed.

"I know, but you heard him. He's so excited to see his family. He sends most of his paycheck home, Liss. He'd never be able to afford the time or money for a visit like this. Besides, he was the top Novice when he went through St. Basil's, so he knows all the tricks to help me."

"You want to top the elimination fights, don't you?"

"Yep!" I said, popping the p. "Elizabitch was supposedly their top female Novice, and I beat her heaps of times on our mission. I can do it, Liss!"

"You really don't like her, do you?"

I'd bitched to Lissa more than once during my weeks at the property about the female Novice Vitsin.

"Not at all!"

"And it has nothing to do with her being so friendly with your mother?" Lissa asked raising an eyebrow at me.

"Not at all," I said primly, putting an end to that discussion.

We walked inside, carrying the last of the glasses and dishes to be washed.

"Give me a hand with these, Rose?" Christian asked.

"Sure," I said, grabbing a disk cloth.

"Lissa, Eddie – can you take the cookies through to the others?" he said pointing to two platters of biscuits.

"Where's mine?" I asked. They looked good!

"I thought I'd give the others a chance to have some before you ate them all, Rosie," Christian commented dryly.

"Good idea," Eddie chuckled, deftly moving a platter out of my reach just as I was about to pounce.

"You'd better save me some," I growled, snatching a plate off the dish rack and drying it with unnecessary vigor.

Christian and I worked in silence together. It wasn't awkward, but there was a simmering tension.

"Lissa looks happy," I commented. "Everything going ok with her?"

"You tell me," he asked pointing at his temple.

"Yeah. She's calm. Happy. She doesn't love Court, but she likes spending so much time with you. She's looking forward to graduating and going to Lehigh."

"You can get all that from her head?" he asked curiously.

"Some. Some is from what she's said, and some is just from knowing her. She's been my best friend since we were five."

"Yes, but she loves me too," he said defensively.

"She does. And you've done a great job keeping her calm and looking after her," I acknowledged. "It makes it a lot easier for me to go away again knowing she's happy."

"So. Russia?"

"It was that or Kansas."

"Is it _that_ important where you graduate?" He wasn't being narky - more curious.

"In two months time, if all goes according to plan, I'm going to be responsible for Lissa's life. No second chances. St. Basil's has always produced the best fighters."

"So how does Dimitri fit into that?"

"Dimitri is the best of their best. With him training me, and the experience fighting in the eliminations at St. Basil's, I'll be as well prepared as I can be."

He was quiet for a moment, washing a large platter in the sink and not saying anything.

"I know about you and Dimitri," he finally said.

"What do you mean?" I asked after a long pause.

"I know how you feel about him. And I know he feels the same way about you. It's in every look you give one another."

I didn't reply. I didn't know _how_ to reply. I couldn't deny it. We were less than two months away from being able to declare our love – I wouldn't deny Dimitri now.

"Does Lissa know?"

"No. She has no idea."

I sighed in relief. This was something I needed to tell her about, and I said as much to Christian.

"So what's the plan? Guarding partners by day, but another type of partner at night and on your days off?" he asked.

I laughed sadly.

"Christian – guarding partners don't _get_ time off together. Ever. That's kind of the point. When one is on, the other is off. If one takes holidays, the other covers. If Dimitri and I both guard Lissa, one of us always needs to be available to her. We'd never have an opportunity to be together."

He didn't reply, just kept methodically washing the dishes.

"What's the alternative?"

"We guard different people. Try and get our shifts to line up, at least a little…"

I was watching him closely, and I could see when the penny dropped.

"You mean me? You wouldn't give up guarding Lissa, so you must mean Belikov guarding me?"

"It was one idea," I said casually. Actually, it was the _only_ idea. As far as we knew, there weren't any other Moroi going to Lehigh. And a couple guarding a couple made sense.

"You know my aunt has feelings for Belikov, right? That she's hoping he'll be _her_ Guardian?"

"I know, but he's not interested. She made him the offer at Christmas, and he said no."

"Because of you?"

I shrugged, but he knew I meant yes.

"She really cares for him," Christian countered.

"I know. But he only sees her as a friend."

He nodded in resignation, and I could see his brow furrow as he thought it through.

"It's not that I have anything against him, or you two being with each other. I can see how well you work together. But I can't. Tasha is the only family I have. It would break her heart if I took the Guardian she wanted. She never asks me for anything, and she's given up so much for me. I don't _have_ anyone else, Rose. I'm sorry, but I can't be Dimitri's charge."

"So you'd say no to him, even knowing he still won't choose her?"

"Yes. He can guard someone else, _anyone_ else, and it won't matter. But it can't be me. I really am sorry."

I looked at the plate in my hands, willing myself not to cry.

"But I love him, and I'd never get to see him…" I whispered.

"I'm sorry. I am. Just give it some time and maybe if the two of you wait for a while…?"

"I don't know if we're prepared to wait, Christian. We've had our feelings as long as you and Lissa have had yours. I'm sick of delaying, and I'm worried there's not enough time. Guardians have short lives – I don't want to waste what time we have waiting to be together. If Dimitri can't guard you, we'll have to look at other options..."

It took him a moment to appreciate my meaning. My threat.

"You won't give up Lissa," he said knowingly. "You've trained your whole life to protect her. You love her."

"You're right. But now I love Dimitri, too," I told him, putting down the plate on the counter and walking out of the room.


	28. Chapter 28

"So you have three sisters?" Meredith was asking my Russian God. We were installed in Abe's private plane, waiting for clearance to take off from Court. I'd managed to get through my farewells to Lissa without letting her, or Dimitri, know about my conversation with Christian.

"Yes. Karolina, Sonya, and Viktoriya. The older two live at home. Viktoriya is sixteen and studies at St. Basil's."

"So there'll be how many at your house?" Eddie asked a little nervously.

"My mother Olena, my grandmother Yeva, Karo, her son Paul, her baby Zoya, Sonya, and Viktoria when she comes homes on weekends. Plus us four."

"That's eleven! How are we all going to fit?" Eddie gasped.

"Tell me there's more than one bathroom," I pleaded straight after.

"The house is very large," he assured me. "For many years my grandmother ran it as a boarding house. There is a full bathroom and a washroom downstairs, and another two bathrooms upstairs."

I looked at him and raised my eyebrows.

"Hot water is provided by the district and piped to the houses, so it is endless," he was quick to assure me accurately understanding the direction of my thoughts.

"And the weather?"

"Down to mid-thirties overnight, and between sixty and seventy during the day. _Not_ an arctic wasteland," he teased, draping an arm around me.

Meredith and Eddie both seemed a little surprised to see Dimitri so openly affectionate with me, but here on the plane, everyone knew about us, so there was no longer any need to hide.

"All ready to go?" Abe asked, walking down the aisle having concluded his chat with the pilots. "It's clear skies and fair weather ahead!"

"As ready as I'll ever be," I commented, checking my pocket for the drugs I'd need if things got too bad in the air.

"Are you going to be ok?" Dimitri asked tenderly, his lips nestled in my hair near my ear.

"I hope so. I'm hoping the ghosts won't be so bad over the water," I murmured back.

With his enhanced Moroi hearing Abe had picked up on what we were saying. I'd told him about the ghosts, and how I didn't fly well because of them.

"I've spoken with the pilots, and we'll be flying into London. If you're struggling, we'll stop overnight for you to recover. Otherwise, we'll refuel and keep going through to Omsk."

"I'd rather push through if we can," I said. "I've got some drugs here to knock me out if it gets bad."

Abe sat in a chair on the other side of the aisle, strapping himself in beside Pavel. The seats were arranged in conversational groups, so he could see me as I sat cuddled beneath Dimitri's arm. Eddie and Meredith sat opposite Dimitri and me, and there were a handful of other Guardians on board.

"All cleared for takeoff," a pilot announced, and then we were hurtling down the runway and lifting up into the sky.

"You're going to love Russia," Dimitri crooned, lifting the armrest up between us and pulling me even closer to him once we'd leveled off. "I'm going to show you where I grew up, where I trained. I can't wait. But I can't wait to introduce you to my family," he said, with a particularly tender expression on his face.

I leaned up and gave him a delicate kiss. He returned it lovingly. From the corner of my eye, I could see Meredith looking at us with a sweet smile, Eddie looking a bit embarrassed. I don't suppose they'd had much of an opportunity to see us kiss before. Well, they'd better get used to it, because I intended to be doing a _lot_ of it now we could!

"Do you want to watch a movie or try sleeping?" Dimitri asked gruffly. He must have noticed Eddie and Meredith watching us, too.

"Movie," I decided, so he pulled out his battered laptop and fired it up, pulling out a handful of DVDs for me to choose from.

"Ugh! They're all Westerns," I moaned. "You pick one."

"I think you'll like this," he said, putting the _Legends of the Fall_ DVD into the computer.

"We'll see," I muttered dubiously, perching the computer on the table that folded out from my armrest, and covering Dimitri and me with a blanket before pressing play and leaning back into his reassuring warmth.

The movie wasn't too bad, but I could feel the pressure of my ethereal friends pressing in on me. It was better than the flight from St. Vlad's to Court, but it was still annoying. Once the film was over, I used the bathroom and declared I was going to take a tablet and try to sleep. Dimitri obligingly reclined both our seats, protectively cradling me in his arms as I started to drift off.

"You don't have to hold me. You'll get bored," I murmured with a yawn.

"Roza, I could lie here and watch you for hours and never get bored," he said happily, smoothing my hair back from my face, and kissing my eyelids.

"That man has it bad," I heard Eddie say under his breath with a chuckle, but before I could retort, I was asleep.

* * *

I woke to find myself facing my Russian lover. He was asleep, lying on his side and facing me with a smile on his face. He looked young and carefree, and I loved it. I carefully lifted his arm, climbing out from beneath it and sitting up.

Eddie had a blanket over him and was sleeping reclined in his chair. Meredith was beside him reading a book while Pavel and Abe were playing a card game on the other side of the aisle.

"Are we there yet?" I joked, sitting up and wiping my eyes.

"About three hours until we're in London," Meredith said putting her book down.

"How are you feeling?" Abe asked, looking up from his game.

"Yeah, ok. Have I been asleep long?"

"About four hours," he said.

"Did you know you talk in your sleep?" Meredith asked with a little grin.

I groaned. I knew I did – I just hope I hadn't said anything too embarrassing.

"What did I say?" I moaned, blushing a little.

"Something about chocolate doughnuts," she said. "You also told Guardian Belikov you love him."

"My two loves," I joked, red faced. "Makes sense," I said, hightailing it to the bathroom, Meredith's laughter following me down the aisle.

"So is there anything to eat?" I asked when I walked back to my seat. Dimitri had woken in my absence and was sitting up.

"There are refreshments in the fridge in the galley," Abe said pointing to a kitchen sort of area at the front partially obscured by a curtain.

"Anyone want anything?" I asked.

"I'll come get something," Dimitri said, standing up and stretching. Here in the confines of the cabin, he looked tall. I mean – he always looked tall – but in here his height was even more apparent.

We walked to the front of the plane, standing behind the curtain and looking into the fridge. There were packaged sandwiches, cold drinks, fruit salads, cheese and biscuits, and sushi.

I grabbed a few packs of sandwiches and an apple juice, Dimitri getting a fruit salad, some sandwiches, cheese and biscuits and a soda.

"You look so happy," I observed.

"I am happy. I'm going home to see my family and introduce my gorgeous girlfriend to them!" he said with a grin.

His smile was contagious, and pushing the Christian problem from my mind, I took the supplies from his hands, putting them on the little galley bench beside my own selections. With my hands free, I wrapped them around his neck, him circling his around my waist.

"I love you Dimitri Belikov," I whispered against his lips, moaning softly when his lips met mine.

"As I love you, Rose Hathaway," he replied, kissing me again before his lips wandered down the column of my neck, taking advantage of the fact we were hidden from sight behind the curtain.

* * *

In the end, we'd stopped in London for ninety minutes. Long enough to refuel and for Meredith, Eddie, Dimitri and me to go into the small private terminal, stretching our legs and visiting the shops there. Abe handed me a fistful of pounds, telling me to buy whatever we needed. I took him at his word, buying three movies, new books for Dimitri and Eddie plus some nail polish for Meredith and I. If we were going to be stuck on a plane for another nine hours, I was going to make the most of it.

Dimitri tried to call his mother to let her know we'd be getting into Omsk somewhere around midnight and would be arriving in Baia in the wee hours so not to wait up.

"I got the answering machine," he explained when he'd spoken rapidly in Russian into his phone. "They're probably out shopping… Mama is an excellent cook, and it's been a long time since I've been home. She'll be cooking up a storm."

"Have you told her about us?" I asked nervously. It had really only just dawned on me I was traveling half way around the world to live with my boyfriend's family for the next month and a half.

"Not yet. I wanted to do it in person," he confided. "I think they'll understand better when they meet you."

"What if they don't like me? What if they think you could do better?"

He laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners a little.

"They won't," he promised. "My family have waited a long time for me to bring a girl home to meet them. They'll love you!"

The flight from London to Omsk was long and boring. Despite watching all three movies, doing Meredith's nails and her doing mine, having a long conversation with Abe and finally cuddling with Dimitri, the time went slowly. On the plus side, I seemed to be getting better at blocking the ghosts. I still had a headache, and I was a bit distracted, but it was nothing like it had been on the way back from Court after Victor's trial. Like most things, I suppose, it came down to practice.

By the time the pilot announced our descent into Omsk I was irritable from so many hours cooped up. Dimitri, on the other hand, was grinning. He was almost luminescent he was so excited. We grabbed my hand as we touched down, and brought his hands to either side of my face pulling my lips to his.

"I'm home!" he laughed, kissing me excitedly. "And it's all thanks to you!"

I don't think I'd realized until that exact moment just how much he'd missed his home and family.

"Let's get to the van," Pavel said, alert despite the long flight.

Dimitri nodded, slipping into a more serious mood. Everyone was vigilant as we walked straight through the deserted private arrivals terminal.

"Where's the security?" I asked Dimitri curiously. I knew Omsk was not a major city, but I thought it was still relatively large.

"This is not the main airport," he explained. "If we landed there, there'd be questions about visas and passports. This is a much smaller private airfield."

I guess that explained why it looked like little more than a large, fancy tin shed!

Pavel waved to a security guard on the way through, and by the time we were in the van the guard was turning off the runway lights and those in the terminal. I guess we'd been the only arrival.

"In the middle row next to your dad, please Roza," Dimitri ordered, seating Meredith and Eddie behind us, Guardians at the front and in the back seat. "We shouldn't run into trouble, but the road to Baia can be a target," he warned.

"For Strigoi?" I asked, remembering the attack on the way back to St. Vlad's.

"Yes – as well as human robbers. But it's less likely at this time of year. Anyone watching the roads is unlikely to attack a van so heavily filled. But I'll arm you all in any case," he said.

Pavel passed him a couple of spare stakes from the glove box, which he passed to Eddie and Meredith, and again Dimitri gave me his second stake.

"I think you're going to need to arm me for real soon, Comrade," I teased.

"I think I will, Novice Hathaway," he replied, kissing the tip of my nose lovingly before sitting beside me.

"How long is the drive?" I asked, reflecting on how peculiar it was to be sitting sandwiched between my father and my lover.

"About two hours," Abe supplied. "We should be getting in around 3 am."

* * *

"Wake up, Roza," Dimitri whispered into my ear. "We're here!"

My eyes shot open immediately, and I lifted my head from Dimitri's shoulder. We were still driving, but I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Around the next corner is Baia," Dimitri announced, his voice younger and more excited than I'd ever heard.

Sure enough, we came around a bend, and there were houses. They were all timber and on huge wooded lots. Mostly in darkness, there was the odd outdoor light on. We drove a little further before Dimitri started speaking to Pavel in Russian. I couldn't follow any of it, but it had the sound of directions.

"I told my family not to wait up," Dimitri explained to Meredith, Eddie and me. "Castile and Edwards – Mama will have set beds up for you. Rose? You can sleep in my room," he said, his voice husky.

I shivered with anticipation. While we were both too travel weary to do anything other than sleep, lying in bed beside my man again – sleeping next to him in his bed in his family home? Well – it was exciting!

"There it is," he breathed when we turned a corner a few minutes later. As Dimitri had promised, the place looked large. It was also conspicuous as it was the only house where all the outdoor lights were lit. We were obviously expected!

Pavel pulled up quietly, and I quickly said goodnight to my father and his Guardians, promising to see him sometime the next day.

And then Dimitri was leading us up to the doorway, quietly slipping his key ring from his pocket, sliding the key into the lock and letting us into his family home, shooing us inside before closing and quietly bolting the door behind us.

He held his finger to his lips, indicating we should be quiet. Turning off the outdoor lights, he beckoned for us to follow.

He stopped after two yards, pointing to Eddie and then into a room on the ground floor. Eddie walked in silently, put his bag down, nodded to us all and then closed the door. Before it shut, I saw a single bed made up with warm looking handmade quilts in what looked like it might usually be a formal dining room converted to a bedroom for his stay.

Gesturing for Meredith and me to follow, Dimitri moved further into the house, stopping at another room on the ground floor. This one looked like a spare room, made up with twin beds. Dimitri pointed Meredith into that room.

"Bathroom," he whispered to her pointing to the next room along.

She nodded and whispered good night to us before also shutting her door.

Dimitri turned and gave me a huge smile, pulling me to him in the dark.

"Come upstairs," he whispered, grabbing my hand and guiding me toward some stairs. They were a little steep, but soon I found myself in a long hallway, Dimitri helping me along confidently. There was one room at the end with a light on, and it was to that room that Dimitri led me.

"My room," he whispered on the threshold, before pushing the door open.

I stepped in gingerly, looking around me curiously. It was neat and clean, but somehow so him. A large double bed was in the middle of the room, a study desk to one side, flanked by a wardrobe and a bookcase. On the far side of the room was a lit fireplace, now glowing softly with warm coals.

He took my bag from me, placing it out of the way against the wall, putting his own down beside it.

"Do you need the bathroom?" he asked almost shyly.

I nodded, so he led me back out into the corridor, pointing to the next room. I stepped inside, quickly doing my business and coming back out. I knew I should brush my teeth, but I was so weary I just wanted to crash. Dimitri led me back into his room.

"Come to bed, ангел?" he asked.

I smiled then nodded, peeling my clothing off until I was in just a pair of boyleg panties and a bra. I pulled the latter off, catching Dimitri's admiring gaze at my breasts, and then a spare TShirt when he threw it toward me. I shrugged it on. He stripped down, too, until he was just in a pair of boxers. Pulling the bedclothes back for me, he canted his head to tell me to climb into bed closest to the fire.

"You feel the cold more than me," he murmured, although it wasn't _too_ cold despite the hour.

Turning off the light at the switch near the door, I could just see his tall, handsome figure climb into bed beside me. And once he wrapped his strong, loving arms around me, I felt like I, too, had come home. His arms were my home - and I never wanted to leave.

* * *

It was warm. Almost too warm. I'd woken maybe half an hour ago to find Dimitri wrapped around me like a vine. We were on our sides facing each other, and his arms were so tight I doubt I could have escaped even had I wanted to. But I didn't – so once I'd reminded myself we were in Baia in his family home I'd closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

I was almost completely asleep when I thought I heard the door open. However, from my position in the bed, Dimitri's huge bulk and the quilt shielding me, I couldn't see anything. Ignoring it, I was jolted awake when I felt the bedclothes move, and someone climb into the bed.

Dimitri was still asleep and smiling as whoever it was spooned him from behind – essentially on the other side of his body from me. I felt a small hand try and slip around his waist, stopping when they felt me.

I pushed Dimitri's arm off me, sitting up in alarm. Someone was climbing into our bed, trying to cuddle my man!

"Dimitri!" I yelled, as a young woman sat up on his other side and stared at me, every bit as surprised as I was.

"Who is that and what the hell's going on?!" I shouted as the woman squealed, jumping out of his bed and racing down the corridor then down the stairs.


	29. Chapter 29

Dimitri sat up hearing my alarmed voice. He wiped the sleep from his eyes, then holding his finger up to silence me he concentrated on the excited voices we could hear from downstairs. He listened in confusion for a few moments before looking at me and laughing.

"It's my sister Vika," he explained. "When she was younger, she was a little devil and if I overslept she would wake me up by tickling me! She came in here this morning to be nostalgic. She's downstairs telling Mama I have a girl in my room."

"What did your mother say?" I asked.

"She told her not to make up stories," he chuckled. "Come on – let's go downstairs to show Mama you're not a figment of Vika's imagination!"

I was suddenly nervous. What if his family didn't like me?

"You look beautiful," Dimitri assured me as I shimmied into some skinny jeans and pulled a tight sweater on. "Leave your hair out."

When we were both dressed, I let him take me by the hand and lead me down the stairs. We walked into the living room, which was now filled with a group of women, all of who bore a striking resemblance to Dimitri.

"Dimka!" the eldest of the younger women squealed, throwing herself at him. He dropped my hand and embraced the exuberant young woman, letting go only when an older woman I assumed was his mother replaced her. After several moments of this, the girl I'd seen in his room was hugging him, turning and pointing to me and saying something in Russian to her mother.

"Speak English, Vika," Dimitri said. "Rose doesn't understand Russian." He took my hand again and pulled me forward, introducing me to his mother, grandmother, and sisters. Everyone greeted me pleasantly, but I could see Olena was perplexed. She questioned Dimitri in Russian, although he answered in English for my benefit.

"Yes, Mama. This is Rose, the one I trained at St. Vladimir's and one of the three I'll be training for the next six weeks. She's going to sleep with me in my room because… We're in love! Roza is my girl, and we are together." He said it proudly but still looked a little sheepish.

There was shocked silence before his pregnant sister Sonya snorted.

"You're in love with Zmey's daughter!"

Dimitri's mother immediately rebuked her, but I had to laugh. It _was_ pretty funny!

"When you called and said you were coming home and you'd be training Zmey's daughter, I was fearful you'd got yourself into some type of trouble…" Olena commented nervously. "Is everything alright, Dimka? Does he know about you two?"

"He does," I said addressing them for the first time. "And he's ok with it. Dimitri misses you all so much, so when Abe said he'd pay for me and the other Novices to be trained somewhere in Russia and graduate from St. Basil's, I asked him if Dimitri could train us here in Baia so he could see you all."

"Mr. Mazur has only recently discovered Rose is his daughter, Mama. He's going to rent a house in town and will be staying while we're here so he can get to know her better."

"You should invite the snake to dinner," Dimitri's wizened grandmother ordered Olena imperiously, standing up and coming over to stand in front of Dimitri and me. Dimitri obediently leaned down to receive a kiss and a hug from her, before she moved on to me, grabbing me lightly by the chin.

"She is beautiful and full of fire. You've chosen well. She is the one I dreamed about," she said to Dimitri appraisingly. "But you're too skinny – you need to eat more," she said returning her attention to me. "You will call me Babushka," she ordered, releasing my chin and going to sit in an armchair by the fire. Even though it was quite warm inside, she had a cardigan on and prodded the coals of the fire with the fire iron.

"Get some extra quilts for our guests and your room, Dimka. It's going to storm tonight."

I looked out the window at the miles of blue sky above us but decided to say nothing.

The formal introductions over the real task of getting to know Dimitri's family began. After our inauspicious start, Viktoria and I were soon laughing and joking together on the sofa, Dimitri looking on benevolently. While we'd both offered to help Olena in the kitchen, she wouldn't hear of it, instead pushing us out into the living room while she bustled around preparing breakfast.

Dimitri's sisters were all quite different in personality. Viktoria was young and fun, and I could already tell we were going to be great friends. Sonya was quiet, reserved and only opened her mouth to say something sarcastic. Viktoria assured me not to take it personally – apparently she'd been difficult ever since she'd discovered she was pregnant.

Karolina, the eldest, was friendly but not as gregarious as Viktoria. She mostly sat and listened to Viktoria, Dimitri, and I talk, joining in occasionally to ask a question.

Breakfast was in the middle of being brought to the table when I looked up to see Eddie loitering awkwardly in the doorway to the living room. Dimitri went through another round of introductions. That had just finished when a young boy of around ten came down the stairs.

"Uncle Dimka?" he asked excitedly, looking from his mother then back to Dimitri.

"That's right, Paul," she said with a maternal smile. "Your Uncle Dimka is home, and he's brought with him your Auntie Rose."

Paul shot forward, grabbing his uncle in a hug. Dimitri grinned at me over the exuberant young man's head. He'd been right – I'd been accepted into the Belikov family just like that.

We woke Meredith for breakfast, the eleven of us sitting at the Belikov's enormous kitchen table enjoying Olena's delicious spread. I sat next to Dimitri, as close as propriety allowed, letting him feed me various dishes and explaining each to me. Honestly, everything tasted good, but I particularly liked blini and black bread slathered in butter.

"You'll need to start training as soon as possible if you're going to eat like that, Hathaway," Eddie joked.

"Hathaway?! You're not related to Janine Hathaway are you?!" Vika asked, her eyes bulging.

"Um, yeah. She's my Mom," I said nonchalantly.

"No _way!"_ Viktoria exclaimed, looking impressed. "I don't suppose you could help me with a project, can you? We're studying Guardian careers in Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection, and I chose her. We're meant to do look up as much information as we can and present it to the class. Anything you can tell me would help!"

"Yeah, ok," I said, secretly thinking I wasn't sure there was much I could tell her that wasn't in the public domain.

"So how did a well regarded Guardian end up having a child with someone like Zmey?" Sonya asked from where she was sitting opposite me at the table.

"Sonya!" Olena snapped in shock, but I wasn't offended. In fact, I laughed.

"Believe me; I've been wondering about that ever since I met my father," I admitted.

After breakfast, we had a quick tour of the house and garden, and then we unpacked. The house was huge, although a little run down, but I loved it. It felt like a proper home. No one seemed to have a problem with Dimitri and I sharing a room, and Viktoria even cleaned out a drawer in the bathroom for my stuff.

About 11 am Dimitri suggested we walk to the gym he was hoping to use for our training, and Olena asked me to speak with Abe and invite him over for dinner that night, so the four of us set out to town. It was a twenty-minute walk, and Dimitri spent the time pointing out the local attractions to us.

"I can't believe you're holding my hand. In public," I whispered to him as we walked side by side.

"We don't have to hide here," he said, a soft smile on his face.

Once we reached the center of town, Dimitri directed us to stop at the hotel and see whether Abe was there. Thinking back, he hadn't said where he would be staying. I knew the plan was to rent a house, but I didn't know whether he'd had the chance to organize that yet, our departure happening so quickly.

Dimitri led us inside and over to the desk. He said something in Russian which I guess must have been 'do you speak English' because the Dhampir girl behind the desk answered in a heavy accent.

"Of course, how can I help you?"

"I need to know whether Abe Mazur… Zmey… is staying here."

That she looked conflicted and a little alarmed was answer enough.

"I'm sorry I can not give out visitor details," she said stiffly.

"Listen, I know he's here. Can you send someone to tell him his daughter is downstairs?"

"Zmey's _daughter?"_ she gasped, her eyes flicking to Dimitri's for confirmation.

He nodded, an amused smile on his face.

The girl blanched and slipped into a back room. A few minutes later Abe came down the stairs.

"Darling!" he said, greeting me with a kiss on both cheeks. "I hope you slept well and settled in?"

"I have, thank you. I'm here to ask you to dinner. Olena is cooking a big welcome home dinner for Dimitri tonight, and she wondered if you'd be free?"

Abe was momentarily disconcerted but readily agreed.

"I'm taking Rose and the others to the gym now," Dimitri explained. "Would you and Pavel like to join us?"

Abe made a quick call, and moments later Pavel joined us downstairs, and the six of us walked down the main street to the edge of town.

It was amusing watching people's faces as we walked. Baia was indeed a mixed town. At least half of those we passed were Dhampir, and more than once we were stopped by people recognizing Dimitri. That said, Zmey got his fair share of looks, too.

We finally made it to a large timber-framed gym at the edge of the shopping area. It wasn't as large as the gym at St. Vlad's, so I didn't hold high hopes for it, but when we walked inside I was pleasantly surprised. The equipment was old but well maintained, and even at almost midday, there were several Dhampir working out.

"Not everyone chooses to be promised," Dimitri explained as I looked curiously at the young Dhampir men training. "Some choose to live more in the human world and kill Strigoi on their own terms."

My eyes lifted to Dimitri's in confusion.

"In places like Baia, Moroi are not always held in high esteem," Abe explained quietly. "Moroi men, in particular, have a reputation for treating Dhampir women here poorly. It leads some Dhampir to mistrust Moroi, and not want to devote their lives to defending them."

I could read between the lines, as could Eddie and Meredith.

"Will they mind us training here?" Meredith asked a little nervously.

"Not at all," Dimitri replied reassuringly. "Dhampir and humans promised and unpromised mix well here in Baia. There'll be Guardians training here, too. There are several Moroi households in the village and surrounds as well as Guardians accompanying visiting Moroi or on leave seeing their families."

A man who had been working out came over to our group, nodding to Abe and Pavel then addressing Dimitri in Russian. A short conversation ensued, Pavel joining in after a few moments. The three of them gestured to some of the equipment, and after a few more minutes Abe joined the conversation.

I was getting annoyed. They were obviously talking about us, but I had _no_ idea what they were saying.

"Dimitri?" I asked sharply, my hand on my hip.

"Sorry, ангел. We were just discussing the busiest times at the gym so I can plan your schedules. Pavel and I think it would be good for you to practice fighting as many Dhampir as possible, so your father has offered to put on a late lunch, early dinner every Saturday to encourage the local Dhampir to come and fight you."

I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Baia is not a rich town, Roza," he said in an undertone. "And not much goes on here. Some free food and beer, and you'll have every Dhampir in the area lining up for you to fight."

"Do I want that?" I asked apprehensively.

"It'll be great practice," Eddie chimed in, having overheard our conversation.

"And there'll be _lots_ of young Dhampir men," Meredith said under her breath so only I could hear. She'd confessed while we'd been painting one another's nails on the plane that her romance with Geoff was over. While she wasn't looking for anything serious, a bit of flirting and flattery would boost her ego!

"We'll start training tomorrow morning," Dimitri told us Novices decisively, bidding the gym attendant goodbye.

"I'm going to work the three of you hard," Dimitri warned as we walked back to the hotel with Pavel and Abe. "We'll be working out from 7 am each day through to midday. Then home for lunch and some chores, then back out from 3 pm till dusk."

"That's like eight hours training a _day,"_ Eddie moaned.

"More as the days get longer," Dimitri agreed with a devilish grin.

"Do we get a day off?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes. You get Sunday off every week, although it will please Mama if you'd all come to church."

"What time is church?" I asked suspiciously.

"10 – 11 am," he said with a laugh catching my dubious look. "And it's not far away. You can sleep in until 9.45," he promised.

"I'm holding you to that, Comrade," I grumbled.

We said goodbye to Abe and Pavel at the hotel, the two of them promising to join us for dinner at 7 pm. Even though it wasn't yet 1 pm, we were all pretty tired by the time we got back to the house – yet another change of time zone had done us in. Breakfast had been so filling none of us needed to eat, sleep being a more pressing concern.

"Go rest, all of you," Olena ordered. "I have everything in hand, here. I'll wake you at six so you have time to get ready for dinner."

None of us needed convincing, so we each headed to our rooms, relieved to get the opportunity to relax.

"Happy?" Dimitri asked, helping me strip off my clothes.

"Very," I sighed, cuddling against him wearing only my underwear. "Does Vika have any other odd bed rituals I need to know about?"

"None involving me," my Russian God laughed, stepping out of my embrace to close the blinds then lock his bedroom door. "Now how about we go to bed?" he suggested, pulling his boxers off and standing naked before me.

"Good idea, Comrade," I said with a small smile, dropping my bra and panties where I stood and slipping beneath the covers on his bed, smiling in satisfaction as my skin met his.

* * *

Dimitri's lips were pressed against my neck when I woke. We were spooning, but he was nuzzling my neck, and I could feel his thick manhood pressed against my ass.

"Hmm," I moaned into the pillow, wiggling my backside to let him know I was awake.

His kisses on my neck got firmer, and he slipped an arm around me, finding my breasts and stroking them.

"I like waking up with a sexy, naked woman in my bed," he growled softly into my hair.

"Do you, now?" I teased, rocking my hips against him.

"I do," he confirmed. "I've never shared a bed before, but I think I like it."

I smiled into the pillow. I figured Dimitri hadn't been a virgin – that I hadn't been the first woman he'd been with – but I liked being the first woman he'd brought home to meet his family and the first to share his bed.

"So you've never had sex here before?" I asked.

His lips paused on my neck.

"No. I was waiting to find the right girl."

"Is that so?"

"It is," he growled, running his fingers down from my breasts to my abs and finally through my tight curls to my slit. His fingers stroked my outer lips for a moment before deftly opening my folds, finding my sensitive nub. I couldn't help the small whimper of pleasure that escaped me, the soft excited pants as I knew what he wanted to do with me.

"I want to make you mine, Roza," he crooned, touching me in most intimate of ways. "I want to make you mine in this bed… Would you like that?"

"Yes!" I hissed, opening my legs to give him better access to my folds.

"We'll have to be quiet," he warned, pushing his cock against my ass again. I mewled in understanding, his fingers pleasing me.

"You're so excited," he said in wonder, his fingers dabbling in the proof of my arousal at the entrance to my tight channel.

"Uhha," I agreed.

Withdrawing his hand, the next thing I knew Dimitri had pulled me into a kneeling position, my ass pointed up in the air. He pulled back for a moment, kissing me on my ass cheek before blowing air softly on my slit. I jumped and hissed, the feeling as unexpected as it was welcome. He chuckled softly.

"I want to make you scream," he confessed, "but I don't think my family wants to hear you cum." He reached past me and grabbed the pillows from the head of the bed. Three he piled under my hips, the fourth he left near my head.

"Scream into that," he instructed, slowly pushing me down onto my stomach, the pillows beneath my hips keeping my backside up. I rested one arm on the pillow near my head, my face nestled in the crook of my elbow. My other hand was between legs and the mound pillows, ready to stroke myself when the time came. My ass was poking up in the air still, although with the pillows supporting me, it was surprisingly comfortable.

Dimitri leaned over me, kissing his way along my shoulder, back and down my body until he was positioned behind me, his knees between my ankles. And then he was kissing me _there_. His tongue was lapping at my hot, wet slit, dipping in and out of my opening and then pleasuring me with long, hot licks that were intended to drive me wild. And it was _totally_ working.

Just when I was about to beg him to take things further and confess he was driving me absolutely crazy, he tore his lips away from my nether regions, kneeling between my legs, the tip of his huge cock poised at my entrance.

"You are _mine,"_ he growled, sinking into me oh so slowly, leaning his weight on me and forcing me hard against the mattress until he was sheathed within me. It was different this way. Firstly his weight meant I was completely immobilized. He was so much larger and heavier than me that his body weight alone held me in place. And while I could have felt scared or vulnerable, I didn't. I trusted my Russian God, and I knew he wanted to make this first time in his bed extra special. Something we'd never forget.

After a couple of long, determined strokes, Dimitri rested fully on top of me, his lips beside my ear.

"I've dreamed of having you here for so long," he confessed, his breath on my neck causing shivers down my spine. "I'd imagine taking you in my bed," he crooned as he rocked his hips hard against me, "I'd fantasize about licking you then having you… Hearing you scream when I made you cum…"

Not usually so loquacious when we made love, descriptive, dominant Dimitri was a _huge_ turn on.

"You like the idea of me screaming?" I murmured playfully between my little grunts of pleasure. His pace was quickening, and I had started rubbing my clit as his shaft pistoned in and out of my core.

"Very much," he growled. "I want to hear you lose control and know it's me who brought you that pleasure."

His admission excited me, as did the sound of his skin hitting mine as he penetrated me again and again. He was in charge, here, and there was no mistaking it. The position, the pace – it was all set by him, yet all designed to bring me maximum fulfillment.

I rubbed my clit more firmly, loving the feeling of being completely enveloped; Dimitri's in every conceivable way.

"Yours," I gasped as the pleasure rose in me until it couldn't be denied any longer. His sack brushing against my fingers as I stroked myself, it was impossible to feel any more connected to him than I did at that moment.

"Always yours," I repeated as I teetered right on the edge on blissful abandon.

"I'm forever yours, too," he promised, his voice aching with the strain of holding on.

And then he forced his face into the pillow beside mine, stifling his ecstatic noises as he lost control, his hips pounding against my ass as he plunged into my cunt again and again.

" _Roza!"_ he shouted, the sound muffled by the down and feathers.

"God, yes!" I screamed into the pillow beside him, his release triggering my own.

I felt him as he came inside me, spasming as he spurted his semen into my cleft, my walls grasping at him and teasing every last drop from his throbbing member as we shared our climax.

Already slumped on top of me, I could feel my man relax; kissing and nuzzling my hair. I whimpered when he pulled himself from me, rolling us to one side and pulling me close against his sweaty chest. His heart was still pounding from the exertion of our lovemaking, and I rested my head against his rib cage listening to it beat.

"I meant what I said," Dimitri said seriously, pulling back to look me in the eyes. His chocolate brown orbs were brimming with love and sincerity as he opened his full lips to confess, "I'm just a man, but you have my heart, Roza. I'm forever yours now, ангел."

"Like I'm yours, Comrade" I replied, so readily making the promise that bound myself to him for life.


	30. Chapter 30

We showered together, neither quite ready to let go of the other and at six made our way downstairs ready for dinner with my father. If anyone had overheard our love making, they didn't let on. However, while no one else might realize it, something about the experience had fundamentally changed how I felt about Dimitri, and he seemed to feel the same way.

He'd said he was going to make me his, and whether he'd meant to or not he'd succeeded. He'd also promised me he was forever mine, and I believed that, too. The knowledge that he saw me as irrevocably his, and himself as always mine, was a game changer. It did a lot to dispel my insecurities and fears. Dimitri could have any girl he wanted, yet he wanted me as much as I wanted him. And from here on forward, we'd face every challenge together. As partners.

We sat on the sofa, cuddled against one another, enjoying some alone time while the others dressed for dinner. I kept giving him shy little looks, and he'd respond by kissing me tenderly or caressing me. We were lost in our own little world, nervous and excited about the promises we'd made to each other.

"So that's that settled then," Yeva commented, giving us a knowing look as she walked through from her bedroom to the kitchen.

I didn't wonder how she knew about the shift between us – Dimitri had warned me she just _knew_ things.

"It was never in doubt, Babushka," Dimitri said knowing exactly what she was getting at, his eyes not leaving mine. "I'll never love another. It will always be Roza for me."

I blushed, but I didn't take my eyes from him.

"I feel the same way about Dimitri."

"That is as it should be," Yeva grunted, sounding like she might be pleased. It was honestly a little hard to tell with her.

Olena was nervous as she fluttered around the kitchen. Dimitri whispered she was worried about Abe coming for dinner, but also she was stressing out about cooking for so many while still trying to create a meal with all Dimitri's favorites. We tried, individually and together, to offer our assistance, but it was Yeva who eventually sent Eddie, Meredith, Dimitri, Paul and I outside with a large basket along with instructions to pick various fruits and vegetables from her plot. It was clear she just wanted us out of the house.

As we walked around in the garden in the twilight, Dimitri pointed out things he wanted to fix around the house while we were visiting, the implication being that Eddie, Meredith and I would be helping with this.

"You two seem… different," Eddie said tentatively. "I don't know what it is, but it's like you're more… together?"

Dimitri looked at me; a whole love story contained in a single glance.

"It's being here," I explained. "We've never been able to be ourselves anywhere else, and here we can. I'm sorry if it's a bit much…"

"It's not too much at all," Meredith said, giving the two of us a smile. "It's beautiful to see, and everyone is so happy for you."

* * *

"Rose!" Abe greeted enthusiastically.

He was at the door right at 7 pm, carrying an honestly enormous bunch of flowers. He presented these to Olena with a flourish before turning to Yeva, passing her a bottle of vintage port.

"Thank you although you've wasted your money. I never drink," Yeva declared imperiously, giving Sonya a reproving look when her snort was hastily converted into a very unconvincing sneeze. I also stifled a giggle. Dimitri had told me while the old woman _claimed_ never to touch a drop, she was rather partial to a sherry or port before bed each night.

Abe introduced Pavel who followed Abe through the door, carrying perfume for each of the Belikov girls, the latest aspirational toy for Paul and some little dresses for Zoya. Abe had gone to an effort to discover who lived in the household, and to bring a thoughtful gift for each of them.

Showing Abe through to the living room, Olena asked her guests to sit while she and Karolina finished the dinner preparations. It was a little awkward, but Abe's natural ability to further a conversation helped. Within minutes, he had Viktoria telling him all about her studies at St. Basil's. She was meant to be there, now, but Olena had kept her home so she'd be here for Dimitri's homecoming.

Before too long, the twelve of us were installed at the table, little Zoya already in bed for the night. At his mother's request, Dimitri led the family and guests in prayer before we sat down to enjoy the feast Olena and Karolina had prepared. The food was delectable but better than anything was seeing my love's face lit up with joy simply being home for a meal with his family.

"You love being here, don't you?" I asked as he was busily feeding me some of the delicacies Olena had made.

"I do. But more than anything, I love having _you_ here."

I quickly swallowed as he leaned forward to brush his lips against mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, one hand stroking the side of his face. We probably would have kept going, had not someone cleared their throat.

I pulled back and looked up in time to see everyone at the table watching us.

"Sorry," I muttered in embarrassment, although Dimitri didn't seem in the least fazed that we'd just been smooching at the dinner table.

"Well I guess I don't need to ask how things are going with you two," Abe chuckled.

We managed to keep it PG for the rest of the dinner as I shoveled down everything in sight. The table had been loaded, and it had seemed impossible we'd finish all the food, but between us all, we'd managed it. The meal finally finished, Eddie, Meredith, Dimitri and I jumped up to make tea and clear the table.

"Now you lot, give Olena and I a minute. We need to discuss the terms of you staying here."

I shot my father a wary glance. So far he'd been very generous, but I knew from Dimitri he could be a shrewd negotiator. I didn't want to see him shafting Olena or taking advantage of her generosity.

My eyes flicked to Pavel, and he gave me a reassuring smile.

Abe started by pulling out a bottle of wine and pouring himself and Olena a glass. I knew from Dimitri she very rarely drank, but she took a sip to be polite.

"Pavel here has helped me do some calculations. Basing it on what it costs me to feed my Guardians, I've worked out a weekly cost of six thousand rubles."

Olena paused and considered it. I had no idea of the currency conversion, but she nodded and seemed to think it was fair.

"That's for food. Of course, there's accommodation as well, so I thought a round ten thousand rubles a week should cover it?"

"You don't need to pay for accommodation, nor should you pay for Dimitri. He is my son, and this is his home."

"Be that as it may, he is here training my daughter and her friends. You should not be out of pocket. Ten thousand rubles a week. Do we have a deal?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"How much is that in US money?" I asked Dimitri quietly where we were standing in the kitchen eavesdropping. There was something about the glint I saw in my father's eye that I didn't trust.

"About a hundred and seventy dollars," Dimitri said, not looking happy. Even though I knew the exchange rate was in her favor, it didn't seem like very much to feed and house four people for a week, and by the look of it, Dimitri thought the same thing.

"Yes. That will be fine," Olena said, taking his hand and shaking it.

"Excellent!" Abe said looking very pleased with himself. He reached into his wallet and pulled out some notes, counting out forty thousand rubles.

"Here's the first week. I thought perhaps I could drop by after Church on Sunday with the next week's installment?"

Olena looked shocked.

"Mr. Mazur. We agreed on ten thousand rubles a week…"

"Call me Abe, please. And yes, that's right. Ten thousand rubles a week each, so forty thousand rubles for the four of them," Abe said, deliberately misunderstanding her.

"That's far too much," Olena gasped, appreciating she'd been hoodwinked into accepting a lot more than she was comfortable with.

"Not at all. My daughter has inherited her mother's very healthy appetite. In fact, we might need to renegotiate if you find she's eating you out of house and home," he laughed, turning and giving me a cheeky wink to let me know he knew I'd been listening the whole time.

Satisfied that Abe wasn't trying to fleece Olena, Dimitri and I returned to washing the dishes.

"Thank you," I whispered to Abe when I sat next to him once the dishes had been washed and dried.

"I don't know what you mean," he said with a mischievous smile.

I hugged him anyway.

"You and Dimitri look very happy?" he commented.

"We are. It's been less than twenty-four hours, and I love being here with him. I can honestly say it's the happiest I've ever been," I said, my eyes drifting to where Dimitri was chatting with Eddie and Sonya.

"I'm glad for you. Being in love must be a wonderful thing."

"It wasn't love for you and Mom?"

He sighed and looked at me. I got the sense he'd been waiting for me to ask about this.

"Your mother and I had a fun weekend together. We played tourist, spent half the time arguing, the other half in bed, but that's all there was to it. It wasn't love for me, and I don't think it was for her either."

He was watching me closely.

"Does that upset you?"

"A little," I replied. "More than anything it makes me sad. I don't Mom's ever been in love."

"She never found anyone?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Not that I know of. But then she doesn't share much with me. What about you? Have you ever been in love?"

He shook his head.

"I've enjoyed the company of some wonderful women over the years, but a relationship was never where I put my energies."

"It's not too late, you know. You're not exactly ancient!"

"Says the eighteen-year-old in love," he teased. "It's alright, Rose. Just now the only relationship I want to focus on is ours."

I smiled at him, happy to hear he still wanted us to get to know each other better. Not long after, Abe and Pavel stood to take their leave.

"Did you come by car?" Karolina asked the two of them, looking out the window.

"Yes we did," Pavel answered.

"Oh good – it's just started to rain, and it looks like we'll be in for quite a storm tonight."

"I told you so," Yeva said with a satisfied grin as Dimitri stood up rolling his eyes to fetch extra blankets for Eddie, Meredith and our room.

* * *

I didn't want to open my eyes the next morning - even when it was Dimitri kissing me into wakefulness.

"Come on, Roza. You know you'll feel better once we train…"

I groaned. He was right, but I would have liked it even more if we could sleep in for another hour before training!

"If you don't come down soon, Eddie's going to eat all the blini," he coaxed.

I opened my eyes and sprang to my feet, pulling on the sweats Dimitri had thoughtfully laid out for me.

"My blini," I grumbled, following him down the stairs.

Olena was already up and had cooked up a feast.

"I've missed Dimitri's early morning training sessions," she said with a motherly smile. "He'd be up at six and at the gym by seven."

"I thought he lived at St. Basil's and trained there?" I asked curiously, waving to Eddie and Meredith as they wandered in.

"He did. But he still trained on the weekends and school holidays. He was very dedicated to his training."

"Still is," I laughed, leaning forward to kiss my man before swiping the blini he had on his fork.

"Roza," Dimitri growled in warning.

"My blini!" I said, shoving it into my mouth and swallowing it.

He shook his head, and Meredith laughed.

"Has she always been like this?" he asked.

"Yes," Eddie and Meredith both replied, laughing at my expense.

After eating, we all pitched in to get the kitchen to rights before setting off on a run around the town. It was muddy because of the storm the night before, so we ran on the roadway.

"I still can't believe I'm in _Russia,"_ Eddie said as we ran, looking at everything around him with interest.

"I know! I still can't believe Abe made it happen."

"He really cares for you," Meredith said kindly. "You can tell."

"Wish my father was a loaded mob boss!" Eddie laughed.

Dimitri looked at him sharply.

"Mr. Mazur is paying for you to be here, Castile. A little respect is in order."

I put my hand on Dimitri's back.

"It's ok, Comrade. Eddie doesn't mean anything by it. I know he values everything everyone's doing to help us."

"Yeah, sorry. I was just mucking around. I'm lucky to be here, and I really appreciate it," Eddie said seriously. "I know this is a great opportunity, and I have you and Rose to thank for it."

Dimitri appeared mollified.

"You're here on your own merit," he conceded. "You all are. But we're going to be working hard. It's not just St. Vladimir's reputation on the line; it's mine, too."

I hadn't thought about that. Once it became known Dimitri had personally trained us for the six weeks before graduation, people would expect us to be good. If anything, it just added to my desire to blitz my trial and the elimination fights. I wanted everyone to see that Rose Hathaway was every bit the badass Dimitri Belikov was and that we belonged together. Maybe if everyone else could see it, I could convince Christian, too.

"For the next few days we're going to be focusing on strength and endurance," Dimitri explained as we ran. "The best moves in the world won't save you if you don't have the strength to carry them out."

It was like when he'd brought us back to St. Vlad's. The serious 'zen' life lessons. It had taken me a while to appreciate them, but I got it now. I got _him._

"We're up for it, Comrade," I assured him.

Our run at an end, we'd arrived at the gym. Walking inside, I could see there were ten Dhampir inside training. Some promised, some not.

"It's busiest in the mornings, so I said we wouldn't use the equipment until 9 am," he explained setting us stretches and then floor work. Once we'd finished that, he ran us through some new throwing techniques in slow motion, getting us to practice against each other on the mats.

By 9 am we had the gym to ourselves, so then he started us in on our weights and reps. We worked out for an hour and then it was time to stop and rest and listen to more theory. I was surprised to see Abe, Pavel, and two younger Guardians, Kirk and Yang, turn up. Pavel ended up teaching us along with Dimitri while Kirk and Yang demonstrated and then took turns working through some new techniques with us.

Unsurprisingly, I was ahead of Eddie and Meredith. Dimitri had already shown me some of the moves he was introducing to them, so Pavel worked with me showing me variations I hadn't seen before. While I loved being trained by Dimitri, it was good being trained by someone else, too.

"I didn't think this would be Abe's thing?" I commented looking across to where Abe sat on a bench to the side watching us and working on his laptop.

"I've known your father for twenty years, and this is the first time he's shown any interest in Guardian training," Pavel laughed before turning serious. "I don't want to speak out of turn, but your father has become very fond of you."

He said it kindly, but there was a warning behind his words.

"He's very special to me, too. I grew up with no one, Pavel. Meeting Abe has been nothing short of wonderful. I'm very grateful to have him."

Pavel considered my words.

"I've never seen him put himself out there like this for anyone… He's flown across the world and reorganized his whole schedule so that he can spend time with you…"

"I'm not getting any younger. What are you trying to say?" I asked, sick of beating around the bush.

"I hope you actually care for him, at least a little, and that you want to know him. I'd hate to think you'd take advantage of how he feels," Pavel replied.

My immediate response was anger, but then I tried to see it from Pavel's point of view. He knew my father better than I did, and whatever changes he'd seen were obviously significant if he felt he needed to speak to me about it. It underscored the point - in some ways Abe and I were still perfect strangers.

"Pavel you saw my Mom and how things are between us. I grew up at the Academy, and I've never had a proper parent. I know it's new to him, and it's new to me too, but Abe is my dad. We're going to have to play catch-up, but he's become very special to me. Not because of all this," I said gesturing about me with my hand, "but because of that," I continued, pointing to where Abe was working on his computer at the side of the gym – there just because he wanted to be a part of what I was doing.

Pavel smiled and looked relieved.

"I am not sure I should tell you this, but maybe you can pretend it was on that Alchemist database you hacked into? He never makes a fuss about it, but next Sunday is his birthday…"

Oh! Abe's birthday would be the _perfect_ way to show him how much I appreciated everything he'd done for me, and how much I cared. I'd have to confide in Dimitri, of course, but between the two of us, I'm sure I could come up with a suitable way to celebrate and show him he was valued.

I looked at Pavel and gave him a genuine grin.

"Thanks for letting me know. I won't tell him you said anything," I promised. "I'm not sure what, but I'm going to plan something… I'll keep you in the loop, but I might need your help."

"Dad's the word," he joked, touching the side of his nose before trading out with Dimitri to go and work with Meredith.


	31. Chapter 31

It had been a while since I had trained as hard as this morning, and I could feel it as I lay down after lunch. We were meant to be doing chores, but none of us had quite acclimatized to the new time zone, so Dimitri suggested we all rest until we resumed our training in an hour.

Eddie and Meredith both retired to their rooms, so we did likewise. Lying side by side on his bed, I curled up under one of Dimitri's arms as he continued reading the book I'd bought him in London. Or maybe he was already re-reading it already.

"I can smell you," I commented, getting a whiff from his underarm. It was masculine and combined with his deodorant was actually pretty sexy.

"Sorry," he said, starting to move to lower his arm.

"I didn't say I didn't like it," I mumbled, rolling over and kissing the underside of his jaw. I would have liked to take things further, but I had a feeling I was going to be sore enough tomorrow already.

"I might just check on Lissa," I said, seeing Dimitri so engrossed in his reading.

I put my head on Dimitri's shoulder, smiling when I felt his fingers playing with the ends of my hair. With my eyes closed, I opened my mind and 'looked' for Lissa. It didn't take long, and I slipped into her head.

Baia was ten hours ahead of Pennsylvania, so while it was 2 pm here, it was 4 am there. However, since Lissa was running on the Moroi nocturnal schedule, it meant she'd just got home from school with Christian. In fact, the two of them were sitting in the living room in the Ozera house hanging out.

"Does Tasha want to come to the Badica's party with us?" Lissa was asking Christian. "She's been flat since Guardian Belikov left for Russia – maybe it will cheer her up?"

"You can ask, but I doubt it. You know how she hates those fancy get togethers."

The way he said it made it clear he wasn't too keen on them, either, but I knew he would go and try and enjoy himself for Lissa's benefit.

"Maybe a night out is just what she needs?" Lissa said optimistically. "We could make a real thing of it. Get our hair and makeup done and buy new dresses?"

Christian shrugged, but he didn't look convinced.

"I'm going to ask her," she said, standing up from the sofa and walking up the stairs and toward the master suite at the front of the house. Knocking at the closed door, she waited for Tasha to say come in.

Lissa opened the door and stepped into an enormous set of rooms. While she'd seen it from the doorway, she'd not been in there yet. Taking up the entire front of the house, the master had a separate sitting area, two dressing rooms, a palatial bathroom as well as a large sleeping area complete with a lady's dressing table and a man's valet stand.

Tasha was sitting at a small bureau in the sitting area with a laptop, calculator and a pile of paperwork. She looked up and noticed Lissa looking around curiously.

"I haven't changed any of it since Moira and Lucas died," she explained. "It's all exactly as they left it. To begin with, I was focused on supporting Christian through everything, and the last thing he needed was to stay where everything was a reminder of them. Then we were never here, so it wasn't a priority. Now I thought you and Christian might want to keep some of it, so I thought I'd let you go through it when the time comes."

She said it with a smile, but there was sadness behind Tasha's words.

"When the time comes?" Lissa questioned.

"I see the way things are with you two. You're in love, and unless I don't know my nephew as well as I think I do, I'm sure he'd like to marry you sooner rather than later. All this will be his when he's twenty-one. I'm just looking after it until he comes of age."

"You don't want to live here?" Lissa asked her mind reeling. Christian's financial status had never really occurred to her before now. As the sole heiress to the Dragomir fortune, she'd assumed her money would provide for both of them. She had, however, thought about marriage and she was hopeful one day Christian would pop the question.

"Court doesn't agree with me," Tasha said sadly, "and I don't agree with it. I much prefer living in the human world. While the bulk of the family money went to Lucas when our parents died, I was also well provided for. Once Christian comes of age, I intend to return to the human world and continue my life there."

She didn't say it, but Lissa could tell she still hoped she'd have someone to share that life with.

"I've noticed you've been a little flat since Guardian Belikov left for Russia. The Badica's are having a party this weekend – I thought you might like to join us?"

Tasha's eyes dipped at the mention of Dimitri's name, and I could feel Lissa's sympathy.

"Thanks, but I'm not sure I feel like it," Tasha said softly.

"We could make a day of it? We could have massages and get our nails and hair done? Guardian Belikov will be back soon enough. You might as well have fun and treat yourself while you're waiting," Lissa said sweetly.

While everyone else, including Christian, had got the message Dimitri wasn't keen on becoming Tasha's Guardian, Lissa was still blissfully ignorant.

"I'm not sure he wants to guard me," Tasha said sadly. "Twice now I'd hoped he'd come and spend some time to get an idea of how it could work, but both times he's gone elsewhere."

"He's a Guardian, Tasha. It's not like he gets to choose…"

"He asked Guardian Petrov to allocate him to train the Novices in Russia," she argued. "That wasn't going to happen until he requested it."

"I think it was too good an opportunity to refuse," Lissa replied. "An all expenses paid trip home... Anyway - six weeks will fly in _no_ time," she said, trying to focus on the positives. "Come to the party with us. It could be fun…"

"I suppose I _could_ buy a new dress and try some new up styles," Tasha said looking at her mane of black hair. "Dimitri will be back in time for the Queen's Birthday ball. Maybe I can do a trial run for that?"

"That's the spirit," Lissa said enthusiastically. "We'll go shopping this week and find the perfect dress. Guardian Belikov won't be able to resist you once he sees you all dressed up!"

I pulled myself out of Lissa's head with a sigh. I couldn't blame Lissa for not getting with the agenda, but Dimitri told me he'd made it clear to Tasha he wasn't interested in being anything more than friends with her.

"Everything ok?" my love asked, his book resting on the covers.

"I suppose…"

"Roza?" he asked sternly.

"Lissa's talking with Tasha. Tasha is still upset you're not staying there. She's going out shopping with Liss to buy a dress to impress you at the Queen's Birthday Ball," I grumbled.

Dimitri surprised me by chuckling. I, personally, didn't think there was anything funny about scar-face still carrying a torch for him and said as much.

"Rose, it's you I want and you I love. You don't need to worry about Tasha."

"Says the man who can barely say a polite word to Adrian," I replied raising my eyebrows.

"That's different. He's all over you, and I can tell he wants to have sex with you!"

I pffted.

"Comrade? I hate to tell you this, but I'm pretty sure Tasha doesn't just want to play tiddly winks with you…"

He shuddered, which actually made me feel a whole lot better.

"It doesn't matter, Roza. She's not the one I care about."

"I know. It's just you said you were going to make it clear you weren't interested in her."

"I tried… I really did. I _thought_ she'd got the message."

"Next time I'll help you with it," I growled, knowing I'd make sure the message was crystal clear.

* * *

"So what do you have in mind?" Meredith asked as the four of us were doing a fast jog around town in the afternoon.

"I'm not sure. Pavel didn't say much, only that he's never seen Abe put himself out there for anyone like he has for me, and that he doesn't make a big deal of his birthday. I know it's really new, but he's done so much for me. And he's my dad… I want to hold a party for him!"

Dimitri gave me a big smile.

"What about a big family meal? Mama can cook something special?"

I shook my head.

"I want it to be from me. Well, us. What if we cook and organize it all? We could plan and make the meal for everyone and then we could have a bonfire in the back yard afterward. You said you used to love having those when you lived here. We'll invite Abe and all his Guardians. It will be fun!"

"We could make sashlyk," Dimitri suggested, explaining they were cubes of marinated skewered meat cooked over coals, and that they were delicious.

"That's _perfect!"_ I enthused. "Pavel said it's next Sunday." It was Friday today, so that gave us just over a week to plan.

"It shouldn't take too much. I'll get Mama to buy the ingredients. We can do the skewers after church next Sunday. That should give us plenty of time to get everything ready."

"I'd like to get him a present, too. I don't have a lot to spend, but I noticed his wallet was looking worn the other night when he pulled it out to pay your mom. So maybe a new one?"

Dimitri said he knew just the place and promised to take me there tomorrow.

After running for almost an hour, we ended back at the gym, and again there were Dhampir training there. Men and women. While it was mostly men, I was surprised to see some unpromised females training, too.

"Even though they're not Guardians, some of the Dhampir women like to keep up with their training," Dimitri said quietly, correctly interpreting my curious glance. "Some work in the human world, some are homemakers."

He didn't come out and say it, but I knew he was letting me know these were not blood whores – simply women like his sisters who had chosen to do something other than guard with their lives.

With the equipment again in use, Dimitri had us doing squats and using heavy bags to do core exercises. While it was boring, I understood why it was necessary. I also knew I was going to be in a world of pain tomorrow.

"Are we going to be having our first fights tomorrow?" I asked a little nervously. While no one had been outright rude, we were certainly drawing our fair share of attention using the gym.

"Next week," Dimitri said with a smile. "I'll give everyone a week to get used to us, and for the word to spread about what we're up to."

He'd only just finished speaking when a male Dhampir around his own age walked into the gym. He took one look at my Russian God and called out "Mitya!" from across the gym.

Dimitri turned and his face split into a huge grin, and he walked across to greet the man. They spoke animatedly in Russian for a few minutes before Dimitri led him over to where Meredith, Eddie and I were carrying on with our workout.

"Guys, this is Kirill. We trained at St. Basil's together. Kirill, this is my girlfriend Rose and her classmates Eddie and Meredith. They were at St. Vladimir's, but it's been temporarily closed. I'm training them here for six weeks, and they'll be graduating from St. Basil's."

Kirill smiled at us all politely, noticing the casual way Dimitri draped his arm around me.

"So someone has finally claimed Belikov's heart," he laughed. "We thought Dimitri would never settle down."

"And here's me thinking you would have had girls lining up to date you, Comrade," I teased.

"Oh he did," Kirill laughed. "The girls _loved_ him, but he never got serious with any of them. Of course, that didn't stop him having fun…"

"Is that right?" I said looking up at Dimitri questioningly. We hadn't discussed his past loves, but if I'd had to guess I would have picked him as the type to have a long term girlfriend throughout high school, not some sort of player.

"I went out on a few dates," Dimitri replied a little nervously. It was as though he could tell we'd be discussing this later.

"A _few?!"_ Kirill chortled. "You and Ivan had a different girl on your arm every week!"

"Yes well. That's all changed now hasn't it?" Dimitri said giving Kirill a look and pulling me close to his side. "There's only one woman for me, now," he said pointedly. "So what are you doing in town?"

"Darya had a baby," Kirill said looking far from happy about it. "She's at home with Mama, so I'm visiting for a few weeks."

"Ohh…" Dimitri's eyes went wide. "Please give her our congratulations."

Kirill nodded, still looking as though he wanted to punch someone's head in.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Dimitri enquired.

"A boy," Kirill said looking a little happier. "A healthy little boy. She called him Anatoly!"

"Watch it, Kirill – being an uncle is expensive. I'm always seeing things I want to send my niece and nephew!"

"Yes, and another on the way I hear?"

"That's right," Dimitri said, it now his turn to look unhappy, but shrugging as if to say 'what can you do.'

"Well, it's good to see you, Mitya. I'll be here for a week or so; we should go out for some drinks."

"I know your idea of a few drinks, and I don't think so," Dimitri laughed. "I'm getting too old for a hangover like that. Why don't you come over for dinner next week? Wednesday? Mama and the girls would love to see you."

"Are you sure that would be ok?" he asked, looking a little torn.

"Of course it will be," Dimitri reassured him.

Kirill walked across to the weights area of the gym while we finished our workout. At twilight, the gym started to clear, and we followed, Dimitri raising his hand and bidding Kirill farewell before the four of us sprinted back to the Belikov house, walking in to find the table set and Olena starting to load it with food.

"Wash up before dinner," she ordered with a smile. I followed Dimitri upstairs, arriving in front of the bathroom at the same time he did.

"It will be faster if we shower together," he tempted, not that I needed much convincing - which is how we found ourselves kissing and cuddling in the shower stall together as the hot water coursed over our tired muscles.

"You are so beautiful," Dimitri whispered into my ear, his hands dipping from around my waist to cup my backside.

"Hmm," I groaned in appreciation. "That feels good…"

I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, our lips joining in a kiss.

"We'd better get downstairs," he grumbled pulling away. "But hold that thought. I'm going to give you a nice long massage before bed tonight," he promised.

"I can't wait," I told him, smiling in anticipation.

Back in his room we quickly dressed, throwing on some clean sweats before heading downstairs. Olena was just finishing bringing the food to the table as we converged, so we quickly took our seats, admiring the alarming amount of food in front of us. Viktoria led us in a quick prayer before we all dug in.

Karolina started telling us a funny story about Zoya putting her fist in her mouth and then trying to fit the other in at the same time, and that she'd visited the health nurse who said she might be ready for solids. Olena and Yeva both had their own thoughts on the issue, which were contradictory, so there was some discussion about that.

Dimitri then announced that since she wasn't going back to school until Sunday, Vika should join us for our Saturday training tomorrow and each weekend when she was home. Initially she wasn't thrilled, but she was a lot more enthusiastic when Dimitri explained Abe was putting on food on Saturday afternoons and the local Dhampir would be invited to spar with the Novices.

"Everyone's going to be there, Mama. You and the girls should come down, too."

"That's very generous of Mr. Mazur," Olena said. "I'll bring down some salads."

"You don't need to," I said. "I think he's planning to have it catered."

"You can never have too many salads," Olena said with determination, declaring the matter closed.

"You'll never guess who I ran into at the gym today," Dimitri said. It was very casual, but I could tell he was being purposeful.

"No? Who?" Karolina replied.

"Kirill! He's in town as Darya's had a baby."

"I heard about that," Olena said darkly, her lips pursed.

"Darya was the year below me at St. Basil's," Viktoria explained. "Kirill is her big brother. She's fifteen."

Meredith and I both sucked in our breath, and Eddie looked uncomfortable. The idea of becoming a parent at that age was abhorrent.

"He wanted to catch up, so I suggested he come to dinner next Wednesday," Dimitri said to his mother questioningly.

"Of course. It would be lovely to see him," Olena replied.

"Don't you think you should have asked me first?" Sonya snapped looking very pissed off.

"He's my friend, Sonya. It's not like you and he ever went out of anything."

"I still wished you'd asked me. I'm not sure I want to see him!" she said, fire in her eyes.

"Well, I can tell him not to come if you'd rather, but he seemed very keen to see you… He'd be disappointed to miss the opportunity…"

Sonya looked uncertain, and her hand dropped to her barely there baby bump.

"Let him come," she said with a shake of her head. "If I don't want to see him, I'll go visit Oksana or Lena."

Dimitri smiled, and I knew he felt he'd won a little victory.

The rest of dinner was spent discussing training and then talking about Abe's birthday party. As Dimitri had anticipated, Olena and the rest of the family were happy to help out. Olena immediately volunteered to cook, but obligingly agreed to hand over her kitchen to Dimitri, Eddie, Meredith and I when I explained I wanted it to be something we did.

Karolina mentioned the neighbors had a tree that needed to be felled, and she was sure they'd give us the logs if we helped lop it. Babushka promised to borrow sashlyk sticks and the coal trough from a friend, and the Belikov girls volunteered to bake a cake. And just like that, it all came together.

After dinner, we washed and dried the dishes. While the Belikovs stayed up to watch TV in Russian, Eddie, Meredith, Dimitri and I, all decided on an early night.

"I believe I was promised a massage?" I prompted as soon as Dimitri and I walked into our bedroom.

"I think I can do that," Dimitri said, eyeing me up as I stripped to my bra and panties and lay in the middle of the bed.

"Good," I purred, turning to fix him with my gaze as he came to sit on the bed next to me. "And while you're doing it, you can tell me all about these many dates with many girls you used to go on," I suggested.


	32. Chapter 32

"Now remember – don't mention I'm here unless anyone brings it up. If someone _does_ know, you can say I'm here training Eddie, Meredith, and Rose – but you can't tell anyone about Rose and me, ok? Until she graduates, no one there can know we're together. I mean it, Viktoria. I could get in real trouble."

"I get it," she said. "I won't mention you're here, but if someone brings it up, you're here training three Novices from St. Vlad's."

"The Vitsin twins, in particular, might seek you out," I warned. "They were on the mission with us, and they know Abe is my Dad…"

"I won't say anything," Viktoria promised. "You're Dimka's girl, so you're part of my family – I'm not going to put you at risk!"

I gave Viktoria a huge hug. It had only been a few days, but she was right – I already felt like part of the Belikov clan.

"Elizaveta is not going to be happy when she finds out you'll be graduating from St. Basil's," Eddie predicted, stifling a laugh.

"All the more reason not to let her know we're coming," I replied, giving him a high five.

Meredith smirked. While Elizaveta had not been anywhere near as rude to her as she had been to me, she hadn't exactly been a ray of sunshine. We were all looking forward to showing the Novices at St. Basil's what the St. Vlad's Novices were capable of!

We each hugged Vika as we heard the train approaching, ducking out of sight into the station as the train stopped and she climbed on board. Viktoria was the only Dhampir getting on at Baia, but there were already a dozen or so St. Basil's students from further out on the train returning to the Academy for the week, so it paid not to be seen.

"Did you come home every weekend?" I asked Dimitri curiously once the train had pulled out and we started to walk home.

"Most weekends," Dimitri said. "I loved coming back to Baia."

"You mean the weekends you didn't have hot dates," I teased, shaking my head at Eddie's perplexed expression.

"I _told_ you, Roza, I was never that into dating. The dates were all about doubling with Ivan so he could convince girls their virtue would be safe if they went out with him!" my Russian God said in an exasperated tone.

" _Sure_ they were, Comrade…"

Dimitri sighed.

"I'm going to kill Kirill," he muttered mutinously.

Somehow Abe suggesting he make board payments on Sunday after Church had turned into him being invited for lunch each week. It worked out quite well; Church ended at 11 am, Viktoria's train left at midday, and Olena timed lunch for 1 pm. Returning from the station, we were back in time to wash up, set the table, and be ready for Abe's arrival.

Olena had gone all out, again. I had mentioned to Dimitri I was worried she was spending half her time in the kitchen cooking for us. He'd loving reassured me that his mother _enjoyed_ cooking, and was adored having a full household to cook for again.

"I don't like to see her chained to the stove because of us," I persisted.

"I'll check with her to be sure," Dimitri promised soothingly, "but she doesn't look unhappy."

He was right. Olena was grinning ear to ear.

"Rose! Make sure you try some of the caviar. It is a delicacy, and we don't have it often," she said from her spot in the kitchen.

I shot Dimitri a questioning look.

"Your father ended up being very generous with his payment to Mama. She wants to make sure he knows she is spending the money appropriately and providing us with the best," he said under his breath.

"She doesn't need to do that," I hissed.

"Roza she _wants_ to."

I growled but went with it. For now.

Right at 1 pm, there was a knock at the door. Abe and Pavel, again laden with gifts. The latest American magazines for the girls, lego for Paul, some baby toys for Zoya, expensive perfume for Olena and a large block of smelly imported cheese for Yeva.

"Oh! He'll be popular," Dimitri commented slipping his arms around my waist from behind and speaking quietly against my ear. "Yeva hasn't been able to get that around here in ages!"

"Weren't there food sanctions or something?" I asked, remembering hearing about it in the human news a year or two back while Lissa and I were on the run.

He nodded.

"The way to Yeva's heart is definitely through her stomach," he laughed. "If Abe has a way to get her imported fruits, cheeses and salamis, he'll have a friend for life!"

I was willing to bet smuggling was amongst Abe's many nefarious activities – but I'd make a point of letting him know of the old woman's love of illegal produce and smallgoods.

Before long we were all seated, Karolina leading us in prayer before we started in on the feast Olena had provided.

"Try the caviar," the older Dhampir urged again. I looked at the almost black round globules.

"What is it exactly?" I asked suspiciously.

"Salt cured fish eggs," Eddie supplied gleefully, raising his eyebrows in silent challenge.

Asshole. He knew I was trying to make a good impression on Olena, so was obligated to eat some. She'd served it in two ways – one a small dollop on top of halved boiled eggs, the other spooned on top of thick hunks of bread with butter.

"Try the egg first if you're not sure," Dimitri murmured into my ear softly. He reached out and grabbed one, putting it into his mouth and eating it in one bite.

"What does it taste like?" I asked. My tone was at best dubious.

"Hmm," Dimitri pondered. "Fishy but it's nice. I like it," he finished encouragingly.

Not wanting to offend Olena by contemplating it any further, I reached for an egg half, following Dimitri's example and putting it in my mouth whole. I chewed it, my hand on my glass of water the whole time, ready to wash it down if necessary.

I could feel the little caviar spheres in my mouth. They tasted salty and fishy but not unpleasant. In fact, mixed with the creaminess of the boiled egg it tasted pretty good.

I turned to look at Dimitri, nodding as I chewed. And then the _weirdest_ thing happened. As I chewed, some of the little globes broke apart in my mouth, giving a fishier taste. I swallowed, but all in all, it was ok. Kind of nice, even.

"Well?" Eddie asked with a devious grin. I knew he wanted me to hate it.

"Different," I said. "Fishy and salty, but not bad," I admitted.

Meredith looked encouraged and picked up a piece of the bread and took a nibble. Her face was comical. She quickly put the slice down, revulsion spreading across her features, grabbing her water chugging it down along with the offending bread and caviar.

"Not your thing?" I asked sympathetically.

She shook her head, eyes watering. She held the nibbled piece of bread out to me. Even without looking at him, I could see Eddie leering at me in silent challenge – daring me to taste it again.

I took the bread, taking a bite. There was a lot more caviar on the bread than on the egg, but it was offset by the creamy butter. It wasn't in my top ten food experiences, but it was ok. I could certainly eat it if Eddie was silently daring me to. I took another bite, followed by a third. It was kind of growing on me.

"I don't mind it," I said to Olena, Dimitri and the assembled company who were all watching me expectantly. "Why don't you try some?" I said to Eddie, giving him an arch look. I lifted the platter of caviar bread and butter out to him invitingly. It was his call - his palette or his pride.

"Sure!" he said, not blinking. He'd eaten slugs during our elementary years when Mason had dared him to, so I'd suspected he'd eat the caviar.

He took a slice of bread, taking a large bite. And I could immediately tell he didn't like it. While he didn't flinch, I could see his eyes widen slightly. He chewed and swallowed, taking a second bite and then a third. And while he thought he was hiding it, it was obvious he was eating it under sufferance.

"What do you think?" Sonya asked with a straight face.

"Delicious," he pronounced with a slightly queasy grin.

We all laughed, and after a moment or two Eddie joined in.

"Did you like it?" he asked me incredulously.

"Yeah. It was ok," I said honestly. "I'd eat it again," I volunteered, picking up another egg and downing it to prove my point.

Olena was pleased I'd tried and liked the delicacy, and Yeva grinned.

"She is more Russian than you two," she declared giving Eddie and Meredith a snide grin. "But she will marry a Russian and her children will be half Russian, so it is just as well," she prophesized.

My head snapped up, and I looked at Dimitri in alarm. While we'd never talked marriage, I guess it made sense on some level. We'd promised each other forever, and marriage corresponded with that, I suppose. But _kids?!_ We were both Dhampir, and we were also both going to be Guardians. Kids had not ever been on my radar.

"Are you suggesting my Roza will be unfaithful to me? Or marry another?" Dimitri asked his grandmother in a tight voice, the mood at the table instantly plummeting.

"Neither of those will come to pass," Yeva said confidently. "Yet you and your Roza will know the love of your own children," she concluded, excusing herself from the table and waddling off toward her bedroom.

The silence at the table was long and awkward.

"You'll have to excuse my mother," Olena said with a troubled expression on her face. "Sometimes her mind wanders."

Abe laughed good-naturedly and quickly introduced a comical story about a trade misunderstanding, exacerbated by lack of a common language, during a holiday years ago. Within minutes he had the table laughing at the pathetic but highly amusing mix-up when he'd tried to buy a decorative table lamp at a market.

While I gave every impression I was following along, in truth my mind was elsewhere.

Would I marry Dimitri? I couldn't imagine being Mrs. Belikov, but then I couldn't imagine not being with him or, heavens forbid, being with someone else.

And _kids?!_ What the fuck was _that_ all about?! Dhampir could not reproduce with other Dhampir. It was one of the unalterable truths of our world. The cornerstone of the 'they come first' doctrine was that without Moroi to reproduce with, Dhampir as a race would die out in a single generation. While I respected Yeva had a way of knowing things others didn't, the idea of Dimitri and I becoming biological parents together seemed farcical, and if I was honest about it, I thought it was cruel for her even to suggest it.

"Are you alright?" Dimitri quizzed, noting that I wasn't really into the conversation at the table.

I shrugged, letting him know without words I was pondering his grandmother's words.

Not long after, we moved to the living room for after lunch drinks. Coffee for Abe, Pavel, and Olena, hot chocolates for the rest of us. Not wanting to make a big deal of it, Abe pulled out an envelope from his jacket and carefully placed it on a sideboard, giving Olena a small nod. She responded, and that was our board paid for another week.

"Abe," Olena said with an uncertain voice. He'd asked her to call him that, but it still didn't sit easily with her. But she was making an effort. "Next weekend we have a family event to attend at lunchtime. I was wondering whether you'd instead like to join us for dinner?"

Olena had been worded up about the birthday plans, hence the need to get Abe to attend dinner, not lunch. As it was, it had worked out perfectly; the Belikov's genuinely having another commitment at lunch time.

A look of disappointment crossed Abe's face before he replaced it with a smile and readily agreed. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he was a little disappointed not to be considered family.

"It's a Baptism," Karolina explained to Abe. "A Dhampir friend of the family has had a baby, and he's being Baptised. The mother is only fifteen, and the father is not around. We thought we'd attend the service and the luncheon afterward."

Abe gave a small gesture of understanding, appreciating why a Moroi man might not be invited to such a gathering. In truth, only Yeva, Olena, and the older Belikov girls would be attending. The baby was Kirill's nephew, and since we'd never met the mother or her child, I didn't feel I needed to be there. Dimitri had begged off, citing the need to supervise us in the preparation of the sashlyks and other party necessities. I appreciated the help – I had no idea how to make a quality sashlyk – but I knew it was also because Dimitri found being around such a young mother difficult.

Agreeing to a Sunday dinner, then securing Dimitri and me for dinner after training on Thursday, Abe and Pavel departed with their thanks and a promise to join us during our morning training session the next day. Eddie and Meredith insisted on doing the dishes, so Dimitri and I headed up to his room for a lie-down. Training would be starting in earnest tomorrow, so we both wanted to enjoy a little idleness while we could.

"You find it difficult to be around young Dhampir mothers," I stated.

Dimitri raised his shoulders in a sheepish expression.

"Because of Karolina?"

He shook his head.

"Even though she was young, Paul was actually planned. Karo had a long term Moroi guy she was seeing. Zoya is his, too, although he and Karo aren't together anymore. But he comes to see the kids from time to time, and he's good to them. He sends money too."

I looked at him quizzically.

"I just hate being part of a society where a Dhampir girl becoming a mother at fifteen is almost normal," he said bitterly. "It's different in America – but here, in towns like Baia, many of the girls never see an Academy. It is expected they will grow up and have babies young, and alone, so they attend the local school and never leave the town where they were born."

I rubbed my Russian God's arm soothingly. Now he'd explained himself I could see this probably had more to do with Sonya's situation than Karo's. Sonya still wouldn't tell anyone whose baby she was carrying, other than to say he wasn't, and would never be, in the picture. While the Belikov women seemed to accept this, it was difficult for Dimitri, and I knew he was unhappy about the situation. Add to that his grandmother predicting I was going to be a mother one day – well no wonder the guy was feeling out of sorts.

I knew he'd always hoped to have a family, but thinking it wouldn't be possible for us, we'd never discussed it. I added it to the long list of things we needed to talk about. But not tonight.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said. Usually, he'd suggest I join him, but when he didn't, I knew he needed some time to think things through.

"I'll be downstairs," I said softly, brushing my lips across his, giving him the space to come to terms with whatever he was feeling.

"Here you are," Yeva said, holding up a hot chocolate for me as I walked into the living room. It was empty other than Dimitri's ancient grandmother, and I knew she had been waiting for me.

"So I'm going to be a Mom?" I asked, blurting out the foremost thing on my mind.

Yeva shrugged, but reading between the lines she meant yes.

"And my children – they'll be Dimitri's?"

She shrugged again.

"Babushka," I said, my voice quavering, "you're frightening me. I never thought about marriage let alone children. I'm not sure I want this. Oh my God! If we can have children together, should we be being careful?!"

Now we were sharing a bed together, Dimitri and I were enjoying an active sex life, and it had always been unprotected.

"It's not going to just happen. You and Dimitri will be given the opportunity and will make a choice," she said in the first reassuring thing she'd had to say on the matter. "When the time comes, you and Dimka will decide to have a family."

"How is that even possible?" I gasped, trying to imagine a time when I'd be ready for that.

"Wonderful things are going to happen in our world, внучка. You will be part of this. Don't be frightened by my words. You will bring my grandson great happiness and together you will know true love and joy. But these are just the silly ramblings of an old lady," she said, patting my hand reassuringly. "Just know I see good things for you. All of you."

"But a mother? You're sure? I don't really have a mother myself – will I do a decent job of it?" I whispered. I still wasn't sure I believed her, but if she was right, I wanted to know I'd make a decent fist of things.

"You always doubt yourself," she replied sadly. "But you will learn your worth in time."

She stood, sitting her cup on the side table next to her chair, beside the knitting needles that I knew from Dimitri she perennially had in her hands. She'd just started a new project – something colorful in a gorgeously soft yarn.

"Silk wool," she explained, noticing the direction of my gaze. "Nothing holds color so well. I should teach you how to knit while you're here," Yeva offered suddenly. "It would be handy for you to learn."

"Why? How many babies do you see me having?" I wailed, starting to freak out now.

And she laughed. Here I was genuinely scared, and she _laughed_ at me.

"That's between you and my grandson," she chuckled in amusement, taking her knitting and waddling off to her bedroom.

I drained my cup, taking it and Babushka's through to the kitchen, rinsing each and putting them on the drying rack, my brain miles away.

Me. Married to Dimitri. A mother to his children. I mean seriously. What the hell?!

Before I started to hyperventilate, or worse, I decided to push it from my mind. Nothing was going to happen in the short term. There were so many obstacles to overcome before I even started to think about marriage or, heavens forbid, kids! And that's assuming there was any truth to Yeva's ramblings – and the jury was still out on that one, too. For now, I had to graduate and find some way to start my career without losing the love of my life.

That reminded me… I needed to tell Dimitri about what Christian had said to me before we left. With everything else going on, I'd let it slide 'til now – but we were a partnership, so I needed to let him know. I climbed the stairs wearily. There was so much going on; I honestly wished everything would stop just for a little while so we could catch up.

Letting myself into our room, I saw my love lying on his side asleep; a book balanced precariously in his sleepy hand. I carefully took it from him, putting it on the nightstand beside him.

Stepping out of my clothes, leaving only my crop bra and panties, I climbed onto the bed next to him, covering the two of us with one of the soft, warm quilts gracing the end of his bed.

Married, not married. Kids, or none. Guardian Dimitri Randallovich Belikov was the love of my life. Nothing beyond that mattered, so I curled up against his chest, grinning as he smiled in his sleep, pulling me against him protectively. Right here, right now everything was perfect.


	33. Chapter 33

It never ceased to amaze me how quickly bodies and minds adapted. We started the first full week of our new training regime, and on Monday night I was tired, but by Tuesday I was feeling ok, and by Wednesday my body was starting to crave the intense workouts Dimitri, with the help of Abe's Guardians, was putting us through. Don't get me wrong – I still moaned and whined and called Dimitri several unflattering things behind his back as well as to his face. But I was enjoying it, as were Eddie and Meredith.

Every day was the same. Breakfast, run, gym, morning tea with Abe when he arrived at the gym, more gym, run home for lunch and a small relax, then another run before heading back to the gym. By Wednesday the local Dhampir population had heard about us, and why we were here, and so far the response had been positive.

It probably also didn't hurt that Abe was spending money hand over fist in and around the town. I'd talked to him about it, and he explained it really wasn't a large sum for him, but he knew that in a town like Baia an injection of money at the various local businesses helped numerous families.

"You're loving being here, aren't you?" he asked.

"I am. It's wonderful to focus on this and leave my other troubles behind for a while."

"Your other troubles?" Abe asked, looking at me shrewdly.

"I'm worried about what's going to happen after graduation," I said, sitting beside Abe at the side of the gym, watching Pavel and Dimitri work with Eddie and Meredith while I took a breather.

"I hope to guard Lissa, but if Dimitri is her other Guardian, we'd always be on opposing shifts. We'd never have any time off together. We had hoped Dimitri could maybe transfer and guard Christian, Lissa's boyfriend, but the night before we left to come here he told me he knows about Dimitri and I and is ok with it, but he's not prepared to be Dimitri's charge."

Abe looked at me an eyebrow raised.

"It's because of his aunt Tasha," I explained. "She has a thing for Dimitri and has repeatedly offered for him to become her Guardian. She lives in the human world and suggested she and Dimitri could even have a family together. He's told her no, but Christian won't have him as his Guardian out of respect for Tasha's feelings."

"So what's the alternative?" Abe asked.

"Dimitri gets a job guarding someone else, and we try and line up our shifts as much as possible," I said. "But with Lissa at university part of the time and Court the rest, it's going to mean weeks or even months at a time apart. That's why being Christian's Guardian would have been perfect – they're going to Lehigh together and would be living together, too."

"What about you guarding someone else?" he suggested. "You could both take jobs at Court or an Academy?"

"We could," I acknowledged. "But I really don't want to guard anyone other than Lissa. It's what I've trained for my entire life."

"Does she know about you and Dimitri?"

"Not yet. I need to tell her, but I want to have a game plan first."

"So what does Dimitri have to say about it?"

My eyes dropped to the ground as I replied.

"I haven't told him about Christian yet. He was so excited about coming here to see his family, and everything was going so well. I didn't want to drop this on him."

"You have to tell him," Abe said.

"I know," I groaned, feeling monumentally guilty. "I will. I'll do it. Soon."

I looked up to see Dimitri walking over to us.

"You two look serious. Should I be worried?" my Russian God teased.

"No. Just telling Dad what a slave driver you are!"

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, and the three of us stopped for a moment. I'd never referred to Abe as Dad before. Not in front of him.

"That I am," Dimitri replied, rescuing the moment. "You've had your break – now back to it!"

* * *

"Can you do my hair, Rose?" Sonya asked later that afternoon standing in the doorway to the bedroom I shared with Dimitri. "I want it to look like I've gone to an effort but not too much of an effort," she rambled nervously.

I followed her back to her room. Kirill was due to join us for dinner this evening, and I knew that's why Sonya was so agitated.

According to Dimitri, Kirill had always had a thing for Sonya. A couple of years older than her, he'd admired her when they were teenagers. But timing had never been on their side, and then he'd moved to Omsk to start a business while Sonya had stayed in Baia, working at the pharmacy and then getting pregnant.

"I used to really like him," Sonya explained as I carefully brushed out her long, dark hair. "Back at St. Basil's I would rarely seem him around as we were in different years, but every weekend he'd be on the train. A couple of times Dimka had to stay at St. Basil's for the weekend, so Kirill and I would be on the train alone. We could talk for hours and never run out of things to say."

"So what happened?"

"I got a boyfriend, and by the time I broke up with him, Kirill had a girlfriend. And then he moved away."

"That's a pity," I replied carefully. I was just pinning Sonya's hair up in a pretty half-up, half down style, casual but pretty and feminine, when there was a knock at the door and Meredith stuck her head into the room.

"I've got those shirts," she said conspiratorially, coming in with four different shirts on hangers.

While I was friendly with all the Belikov girls, in our short stay so far Sonya had really clicked with Meredith, and the two of them were becoming fast friends.

"I like how you've done her hair," Meredith complimented. "Now I think we need some lip gloss, some mascara and one of these tops."

At three months pregnant, Sonya was only just starting to show so she'd not yet bought any maternity clothing. Her usual clothes were quite tight and fitted, so Meredith was offering a choice of hers as an alternative.

"I mean, I'm sure he knows I'm pregnant," she said, looking sad. "But I don't want to draw attention to it."

"Try on the blue one," I suggested, pointing to a lovely, floaty top of Meredith's. The second she had it on, Meredith and I crowed triumphantly.

"That's definitely it," Meredith said. "It's the _perfect_ color on you and so feminine."

"She's right," I agreed, rummaging through Sonya's makeup bag to find the softest most natural lip gloss I could find. Applying that, and a little mascara, and she was done. There was a pretty flush on her cheeks, so she didn't need blush there.

"You look amazing, Sonya," I said.

"It's a very different look for me," she said uncertainly.

"Seriously you look great. Those jeans are perfect with that top, and all of it looks great on you!" Meredith quickly agreed.

The three of us stared into the mirror, and a pleasing smile appeared on Sonya's face.

"He'll be here any minute. Let's wait downstairs. And don't say anything about the past. He's probably just here to see Dimitri and won't even remember me."

I rolled my eyes at Meredith who responded with a smirk, but we said nothing as we followed the middle Belikov daughter downstairs.

Dimitri was in the living room chatting with Eddie and looked up as the three of us entered. He took in his sister's softer more feminine look with interest. I shot him a look that he correctly interpreted as 'tell her how nice she looks.'

"Sonya you look beautiful," he said, standing up and coming over to kiss her on the cheek.

"I don't know what everyone's carrying on about," she bristled. "It's just what I normally wear to dinner," she asserted not meeting anyone's eyes.

A knock at the door announced Kirill's arrival, so Dimitri went to let his friend in. Stepping inside Kirill greeted everyone fondly.

"Mrs. Belikova? I had a little something sent from the shop I thought you could use," he said, handing over a bag with a large box in it. Olena dutifully put it down on the table and opened the bag to reveal a toaster.

"It's the top of the line model," Kirill announced nervously. "It has ten different toast settings, can do one sided, thick and thin bread and even has delayed start and keep warm functions."

Olena gave the expected thanks, although I did wonder whether she'd ever use the thing.

If I'd thought Kirill's gift to Olena was odd, his choice of gift for Yeva was worse. He dutifully kissed each of the old lady's cheeks before proudly presenting her with a bag containing an even larger box.

"It's a foot spa," he declared, giving a brief overview of all the appliance's features and the advantages of foot exfoliation. Yeva grunted what could perhaps have been interpreted as a thanks. Everyone else managed to maintain polite smiles, although Karo had to leave the room for a moment, apparently overcome by the idea of her septuagenarian grandmother exfoliating her feet.

"Thank you that's very kind," Olena said quickly, acknowledging the earnest young man's thoughtfulness.

"Sonya," he breathed, finally addressing the young woman he'd been checking out from the corner of his eye ever since he'd arrived. "You haven't changed a bit."

She smiled and greeted him fondly, still blushing.

"I brought you something, too. It's the latest thing from America. With your pretty hair, I thought it might come in handy."

He handed over a long thin box, and it didn't escape anyone's attention that Sonya's gift was the only one that had been wrapped.

She opened the gift carefully, easing the box from the gift paper without tearing the latter, revealing a black box with gold dots on one end. I'm not sure whether Sonya immediately appreciated what it was, but Meredith and I did.

"Woah! That's a GHD!" Meredith gasped her eyes widening.

"And the gold model!" I added. While I didn't own one myself, Lissa's VIP Sephora card was testament to her beauty products addiction, so I knew all about the GHD and how it was the best hair straightener available. They were expensive enough in the US; God knows how much they were worth here.

"That's very generous," Sonya gasped, apparently understanding what it was she'd been given. "Thank you," she said, giving him a very pretty smile.

"It's nothing," Kirill said, his relieved grin belying his words.

We moved through to dinner, and I noticed again the table was laden.

"These pelmeni are delicious," Kirill praised Olena, who quickly pointed out Sonya had made them.

"A beautiful girl, and a good cook," he commented with a red face albeit a defiant look, challenging anyone to take exception to his remark.

Sonya blushed but accepted his compliment.

He was right about the dumplings – they were tasty, and I said so to Sonya. She promised to show me how to make them, and I noticed my love's pleased expression. Now I knew the basics of cooking, thanks to his lessons during our mission, I should probably take the opportunity to learn some Russian basics.

"So Kirill? Dimitri said you live in Omsk now? What do you do there?"

I'd noticed he wasn't promised, so I figured he must live in the human world.

"When I left St. Basil's I started a small import business," he explained. "Electronics and small consumer appliances. I started off with DVD players, then televisions, but now I have two full stores with every imaginable electrical device. I'm currently having the fit out completed for a third store," he said, although I noticed he was speaking to Sonya and not me. "Business is good."

The conversation moved onto other things, finally coming around to our training and our ultimate purpose in being here. Kirill promised to round up as many friends as he could to fight us next Saturday.

"I'm not promised, but I try to keep in shape. And perhaps, on Sunday, you'd be free to attend my nephew's Baptism?" he asked, inviting us all although his eyes were again on Sonya.

"Yes, Darya has already invited us. My mother, the girls and I will be delighted to attend," Olena graciously responded. And we all saw the satisfied expression on Kirill's face.

I quickly looked at Sonya and gave her a questioning look. She subtly nodded, so I gave Dimitri a meaningful look. He was confused for a moment before he got what I meant.

"Rose and I won't be able to make it," he said to Kirill. "We're having a party here on Sunday night we need to prepare for. But you're very welcome to join us for that. We're doing sashlyk and a bonfire."

"It would be my pleasure," Kirill replied – and this time it was Sonya's chance to smile.

The rest of dinner passed, and before long, Eddie, Meredith and I were doing the dishes while the others moved through to the living room, speaking Russian.

"That's going well!" I said to Meredith with a grin.

"She _really_ likes him," Meredith said, her smile matching mine. "She told me yesterday. She didn't think he'd be interested now she's pregnant, but he seemed pretty keen to me."

"Oh come _on,"_ Eddie interrupted us. "If the guy were any more eager she'd have an engagement ring on!"

"It's a lot to take on – a woman pregnant with another guy's baby," I mused.

"Not really. Not for a Dhampir guy," Eddie replied. "You have to remember – unless he finds a Moroi girl willing to settle down and live in the human world with him, he's not going to have a child of his own. If he cares for Sonya, he might welcome the opportunity of raising the child with her."

I hadn't considered things from that perspective, but perhaps Eddie was right. Dhampir women pregnant to Moroi men was common enough, but a Moroi woman willing to settle down and start a family with a Dhampir guy was virtually unheard of.

We finished the dishes joining the others in the living room. Almost every seat was taken, so I sat on Dimitri's lap.

"Settling down suits you, Mitya," Kirill commented. "You look happy."

"I am happy," he said, his fingers toying with the ends of my hair. I'd worn it loose the way he liked it. "There comes a time in a man's life when he wants to settle down and enjoy the company of a special woman."

"I know what you mean," Kirill said meaningfully. Eddie was right – the guy was making his hopes and intentions clear, and Olena's satisfied expression made it evident I wasn't the only one to think so.

"I should be going," Kirill announced regretfully, standing. "But I'll see you at the gym, Mitya, and I look forward to seeing the lovely Belikova ladies on Sunday."

"Let me walk you out," Dimitri offered. I climbed off his lap, and my Russian God clapped his old friend on the back, walking him to the door after he'd said his farewells.

The front door closed, and I noticed Dimitri had stepped outside with Kirill. Sonya took off upstairs, probably wanting to be alone to think over the evening, and one by one the others excused themselves heading to their bedrooms. However, I waited the fifteen minutes until my man reappeared, letting himself in noiselessly through the front door.

"You were gone a while," I said as he shut off the downstairs lights.

"Kirill wanted to have a chat," he explained.

"Oh?" It was pretty clear what Kirill wanted to talk about, but I waited for Dimitri to elucidate.

"He asked my permission to court Sonya. He said he's always had a thing for her, and seeing her again now, he'd like to see if there's a chance she feels the same way."

"What did you say?" I asked nervously. I knew Dimitri was funny about his sisters, especially now Sonya was expecting.

"He's a nice young man from a good family with excellent prospects… What do you think I said?" Dimitri teased. "My life wouldn't be worth living if I sent him away!"

"Yeah, I saw your Mama likes him."

"She does. We all do. He's a kind guy, and I think he'd be good for Sonya. I just don't know if she feels anything for him."

I shook my head incredulously, rolling my eyes. For a smart guy, sometimes my Russian God was completely clueless.

"She's into him," I laughed. "Big time."

"You're sure?"

"No doubt about it."

"Well I've told him he has my permission, so we'll see," he said closing the subject.

We climbed the stairs to our bedroom. We'd be training in the morning, so we should get to bed soon, but I was feeling talkative. Eddie's comments about Dhampir guys and kids got me thinking about my talk with Yeva.

"Dimitri?" I asked as I flopped onto our bed. "If we _could_ have kids together, would you want them?"

Dimitri paused, giving the idea thought.

"Yes," he admitted finally. "I know the chances are we can't, but if it were a possibility, I'd want to share that with you."

His eyes were on my face searchingly.

"And if we can't?" I whispered.

"If we can't we can't," he replied. "Is this about what Babushka said?"

"Yes and no. It's also something Eddie said about Dhampir guys not usually being fathers. He said Kirill might welcome Sonya's baby and be willing to raise it as his own."

"We grow up knowing it's not on the cards for us," he explained, lying beside me on the bed and rubbing circles on my hip.

"But you'd be a father if the opportunity arose?"

"Only if you wanted it, too. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Roza. If we had the chance, and you wanted to, I'd proudly be the father of your children."

I smiled. He sounded so loving.

"Well… Babushka told me it wasn't going to happen accidentally," I said with a cheeky grin. "So there's still no harm in practicing, I suppose?"

"I like the way you think, ангел," he growled, pushing me onto my back and climbing on top of me. "I'm _all_ for practicing!"


	34. Chapter 34

After our passion on Wednesday night, it was an effort getting out of bed on Thursday. I stayed put for as long as I could, but eventually, Dimitri stripped the quilt off me, demanding I get up and ready myself for training. I did as he bid, with numerous mutinous comments, but made my way downstairs and gulped down a coffee while I scarfed my breakfast. While he pretended not to feel it, I knew my Russian God was also tired when he suggested a jog to the gym that morning rather than the usual run or sprint.

Something about Eddie's smirk when he asked why we were jogging not running made me suspect he might have realized Dimitri and I had our own marathon last night. But if that was the case he was wise enough not to voice it – the only indication being the turn of his lip and a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

"I'm going to focus on theory today," Dimitri said, his voice sounding weary.

I think we were all a little relieved. It had been a long few days and exercising the mind instead of the body was appealing. By the time Abe and Pavel appeared at 10.30 am with some cookies and coffee, we were perhaps regretting this decision. That the coffees were in ceramic mugs from the café five doors up, and we were expected to return the cups later, was an illustration of how Baia was yet to grasp the concept of a takeaway café culture!

"Not working out today?" Abe asked, handing us each a steaming hot mug from the tray that he'd also borrowed.

"Theory this morning," I said with a smile in an attempt to be loyal to my Russian God. After all – I was the reason he was tired!

"I'm taking them through incapacitation techniques," Dimitri explained. While Strigoi healing was phenomenal, some injuries took longer to heal than others. It had been handy to discover tendons and ligaments were a particular weakness and a strike that damaged one of those might give us a chance to get away. Dimitri had spent the morning running us through ways to sever an Achilles tendon, and how to kick a knee in such a way to injure an anterior cruciate ligament.

Pavel commented enthusiastically on Dimitri's instructions.

"It's not in the curriculum, but they need to know it," he remarked.

"You're teaching them things outside the curriculum?" Abe asked Dimitri a little perplexed.

"Abe, they're training to be Guardians. I'm teaching them anything and everything I can think of to help them stay alive," he replied soberly.

Pavel nodded, passing Dimitri a cup of coffee and after a couple of questions took over the theory lesson, starting with an explanation of the best ways to decapitate Strigoi.

Understandably, after Spokane, I was particularly affected by this. While Eddie had also been at Spokane, he was outside and still pretty out of it when I had decapitated the ancient Isaiah and his minion Elena.

Reading my body language like an open book, Dimitri sat behind me, resting a long leg on either side of me and giving me the solid presence and comfort of his body as I leaned back against his chest and sipped my coffee. His muscled chest, strong heartbeat, and steady breathing helped to keep me calm, but despite being pressed up against my man, and knowing I was safe, Pavel's graphic descriptions were starting to make me feel nauseous. It was a time in my life I'd do anything to forget, and Pavel's descriptions were just too lurid and as I knew, far too accurate.

"I'll return the mugs," I volunteered weakly. Any excuse to get out of there for a few minutes.

"I'll help," Abe added, detecting my distress. Together we collected the empty mugs from the others, walking out of the gym and into the sweet open air. A relief after the slightly fetid, stale air of the gym, I took in several cleansing breaths. It was late morning, and the sun was rising, so Abe walked in silence in the shade of the buildings beside me.

"You don't like decapitation?" he asked.

"It's not that. Eddie and I lost our friend Mason to Strigoi at New Years. I decapitated the Strigoi responsible, but it was too late for Mase."

"I'm sorry," he muttered. I'd told him about Spokane previously, but not the specifics. I shuddered again.

"Thanks. So am I," I mumbled, not sure of what else to say.

We walked into the café, returning the cups and tray and giving our thanks. Morning tea and coffee had become just one more way Abe was spreading his largesse around the town. Seeing I still wasn't right, instead of returning to the gym, Abe suggested we stop for a moment. He pointed to a chocolate doughnut in the display cabinet and the coffee machine and held up his finger to indicate one, and steered me over to a quiet table in the window.

"Have you spoken to Dimitri about after graduation yet?" he asked.

"No," I admitted. "I will soon. It's just with eleven people living in the house it's hard to get a moment alone."

It was an excuse. I'd been putting it off.

"It won't get any easier if you delay," Abe commented sagely, pointing to me when the waitress appeared with the doughnut. He waited for his coffee to arrive before he continued.

"You can tell him tonight over dinner if you're worried."

I shook my head.

"Thanks anyway, but I'll do it when we're alone."

"Whatever you think is best."

We sat in silence. Although we were meant to be getting to know each other, this was pretty much the first time we'd been alone since I'd been here. And while I loved spending time with Dimitri and his family, I was also conscious I was here to get to know my father.

"This is nice. Just you and me," I said tentatively.

"It is," he replied contentedly. And while there was silence between us, it was a happy silence. He drank his coffee, and I scoffed my doughnut.

"Come on. They've probably finished decapitation and are on to crucifixion by now."

I snorted, and my eyes met his with amusement. It was the sort of completely irreverent thing I'd say!

* * *

"Roza? Your phone is ringing!" Dimitri called out from our room. I cursed and wrapped a towel around me, slipping out into the corridor from the bathroom and down to our room.

"Hello?" I said, answering the call meanwhile dropping the towel and flopping naked onto our bed. I pretended not to, but I noticed Dimitri's lustful eyes raking up and down my form as I lay there.

"Rose!" Lissa squealed. "You haven't called! How are you going!"

I mentally cursed. Other than a perfunctory call to let her know we'd arrived, I hadn't spoken to Lissa since we'd been here. Sometimes I forgot she couldn't check in via the bond the way I did. While I kept a regular eye on her, she needed a phone to find out how I was going.

"Hey, Liss!" I said, injecting a bit more enthusiasm into my voice than I necessary felt. "Good. Just training like crazy! We're up for breakfast at six, run to the gym and then train from seven. We come back for lunch at midday and do chores. We're back at the gym from three 'til sunset and then it's home, dinner and bed."

"That sounds brutal," Lissa laughed.

"Yeah. It is, but it's what we have to do." I sounded narkier than I probably meant to.

"Yes. I'm sure you do," Lissa said, suitably chastised and I briefly felt guilt through the bond.

I mentally sighed.

"It's ok," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "It's just a lot."

"So are you home now? It's what… six there?"

"Yeah. I just had a shower, and I'm going over to Abe's for dinner tonight."

"How's that going?" she asked curiously.

"Good. Early days, but we're getting to know each other. He comes every day to watch us train. It must be pretty boring, but he sits there with his laptop and watches and talks to us during our breaks. And he comes to the Belikov's every Sunday for lunch."

"He's running on daylight hours?" Lissa remarked in surprise.

"Well, yeah. It's a human and Dhampir town…"

"Yes. It's just such an _adjustment!"_

Yes, it was. Although no one seemed to think it was such a big deal when Dhampir lived a nocturnal schedule to suit Moroi, I thought morosely.

"Abe kind of just fits in like that," I said, not trusting myself to say any more.

The conversation continued, Lissa enquiring about the house, Dimitri's family, Eddie, Meredith and finally my Russian God himself.

"He's good. He really loves being home. He spends most of the time we're not training with his family."

It was the truth. We all did. Most nights we were too worn out to do much else, and the social opportunities in Baia were decidedly limited.

"How's Christian?" I asked, doing my utmost to keep recrimination from my voice.

"He's great! We've been picking out our college subjects. It's so _exciting!"_

I semi tuned out, only half listening to Lissa as she rambled about the two minors she was considering.

"… what do you think?" she asked, interrupting me as I enjoyed watching Dimitri dress for our dinner with my father. I had _no_ idea what she'd been talking about.

"I think you have a good point," I replied, hopeful it would cover the situation.

"I _knew_ you'd agree. And I know you won't mind doing politics," she continued. "It's really very interesting, once you get into it."

I was confused for a moment until I remembered that when I was Lissa's Guardian, I'd be expected to attend classes with her. Oh God, I hoped I could get away with sitting there and pretending to study. There was no way I could pay sufficient attention to actually pass a university class on politics!

"Hey, it's almost time for me to go to Abe's" I interrupted. "I've got to go get ready - sorry!"

"That's ok. It's just nice to hear your voice! I miss you!"

"I miss you too!" I replied, grateful for an excuse to get off the phone. "I'll call soon, I promise!"

* * *

"You didn't sound very happy on the phone to Lissa," Dimitri commented as we walked hand in hand to Abe's place. He'd moved out of the hotel, and was now installed with his Guardians in a large terraced house near the center of town – a twenty-minute walk from the Belikov's.

I sighed.

"She and Christian have been picking their subjects for college. Lissa wants to do a minor in politics."

"And?" he probed.

"It's like it doesn't matter what I think or what I might want. She'll choose what she wants, and I'll go along with it."

"That's what guarding is, Roza. They come first, and our job is to support whatever they want to do."

"It didn't use to be like that. Lissa and I used to decide things together. She cared how I felt and how things affected me."

Dimitri smiled sadly.

"It can be hard when your charge is also a friend."

"Was it like that with you and Ivan?" I asked tentatively. Ivan was always a sensitive topic with my Russian God, but he didn't seem unhappy to talk about it.

"Yes and no. We became friends later than you and Lissa, so we always understood how it would be. Also, Ivan floated around after St. Basil's. He didn't exactly make life plans that would impact heavily on me."

I sighed. We were still a good fifteen-minute walk from Abe's place.

"Christian doesn't want to be your charge," I blurted out deciding I couldn't put it off any longer.

"Out of loyalty to Tasha," Dimitri supplied, with a resigned look on his face. "I figured as much."

"You _knew?!"_ I gasped. All this time I'd be stressing about how to talk to him about it, and he already knew?

"The night before we left you were fine before you spoke with Christian, then you came out looking like you were going to cry. You were ok with Lissa when you said goodbye, but wouldn't even look at Christian. You were so happy to be coming to Russia the only thing I could think of was you'd spoken to him about our hopes for after graduation."

"He raised it with me. He told me that he knew about us. He asked how we were planning to manage things and I said we hoped to guard different people and get similar shifts. I didn't say him, but he worked it out."

Dimitri nodded, looking less upset than I thought he might.

"He said he's ok with us being together, and he's not going to turn us in, but he knows how Tasha feels about you, so he won't have you as his Guardian as he's worried it will upset her."

"She is his aunt," he justified. "She's done a lot for him."

"And we're both people with hearts, too," I snapped. "When does what _we_ want become a consideration, Dimitri?"

He looked troubled but didn't have any answers for me. Instead, he stopped and pulled me into an embrace.

"We have the here and now. We'll figure out the rest when the time comes," he promised, rubbing the tops of my arms soothingly.

I nodded and accepted his words, but inside I was wondering how we'd manage not to be separated. Maybe Dimitri had been right all those months ago when he said we had no future together?

"Come on," he said. "Your father is expecting us."

We walked the rest of the way in silence, turning up on Abe's doorstep right on time.

"Something smells good," I said, my mood improving as Pavel showed us inside.

"After two days of us Guardians cooking, your father found a lady in the village who was willing to come in and cook and clean for us," he confided with a chuckle. "Guardians we are, chefs we are not!"

We followed him through to a dining room where Abe was sitting in front of a roaring fire. It wasn't really cold outside, but it was cool enough the fire was welcome.

"Rose! Dimitri! So pleased you could make it!"

We both smiled at Abe, sitting in the seats he indicated, each accepting a glass of wine.

"To family," he said proposing a toast.

Our glasses had barely clinked together when an older Dhampir woman appeared with loaded plates of food for Dimitri and me, a small portion for my Moroi father.

Dimitri greeted her politely, speaking with her at length in Russian before introducing me in English. With a final nod, she wished us a good evening and scuttled off presumably to the kitchen.

"Her sons were both Guardians," Dimitri explained once she had left the room. "I knew them growing up."

"Were?" I asked, seizing on what seemed to be the most pertinent word.

Dimitri frowned, and I made no further inquiries about the brothers.

"So how's work going, Abe?" I asked in a misguided attempt to change the subject.

Abe was caught off guard. I don't think he was used to being asked about business.

"Erm, good. It's been a particularly profitable couple of days," he said with a devilish grin. He looked very pleased with himself, but I thought it probably wasn't wise to probe, so instead, we talked more about our pasts. I filled in a lot of the blanks about when Lissa and I were on the run. I'd never told Dimitri much about the time Lissa and I spent away from the Academy, so he was every bit as interested in my stories as Abe.

In turn, Abe described growing up in Turkey in more detail. He spoke about his early childhood, and then later his early twenties, but skipped the entire time in between. It didn't appear to be an oversight, so I didn't pry.

The rest of dinner went smoothly, the food was delicious and the wine plentiful. It was tempting to linger over our after dinner drinks, but I knew I'd pay for it in the morning if we did; we still had to train.

"Thanks, Abe," I said giving him a long hug before Dimitri and I set out to walk home. Abe had offered to have Pavel drive us, but I was hopeful for a bit more alone time with Dimitri. Even though we could be openly affectionate in front of Eddie, Meredith, and Dimitri's family, nothing beat one-on-one time alone together.

"So what are we going to do?" I asked, referencing our previous discussion. He knew me so well he knew I'd still be worrying about our allocations after graduation.

"If you want to guard Lissa then maybe there's another Moroi at Lehigh I can guard? It's worth at least checking? Another idea is _you_ could guard Christian? He doesn't have a primary Guardian yet, and he'll need one. You've had practice with him for the field-experience, so you know what you'd be in for."

I was about to make an ugly retort when Dimitri stopped and looked into my eyes.

"Just consider it, Roza. I've turned this over every way in my mind, and it's the best solution I can come up with. We could work the same shifts and they'll be living together, so we could too. I know all your life you've dreamed of guarding Lissa – but maybe this way you can be more her friend, and leave being her Guardian to me? You'd still be there, helping keep her safe? In time, we could maybe switch over?"

We were quiet the rest of the walk as I thought about it. While I had been inclined to dismiss the idea straight off, Dimitri was right. The idea had merit and it might solve more than one problem.

"I'm not sure I could trust her to anyone but you," I murmured when we were most of the way home. It was a sign of our faith in each other. It wasn't an agreement, but the more I thought about it, the more I could see the idea working. It was at least worth thinking about.

He chuckled.

"I know ангел. And you know, politics is an interest of mine. I'd probably enjoy those lectures!"

I smiled up at him, slipping my arms around his neck.

"I love you," I murmured. He was everything to me, and I didn't tell him nearly enough.

"I love you too, Roza," he said, rubbing his nose against mine in an Eskimo kiss before joining his lips with mine.


	35. Chapter 35

"I think I've died and gone to heaven," Meredith giggled, looking at the entry to the gym with a devilish grin. Following her gaze, I couldn't help but smile. There was Kirill, and as promised he'd brought friends.

"Which ones are single?" I whispered to Sonya who was making shy eyes at Kirill.

"Hmm?" she replied distractedly. "Um – all of them, I think? Come on, I'll introduce you."

"Which one do you like?" I whispered to Meredith.

"I'm not sure - I'm only looking..."

Obediently Meredith and I followed Sonya across to the group of handsome young Dhampir men standing in the doorway. Kirill wasted no time in greeting Sonya, and from the way the other guys looked at her, or more to the point didn't, he'd obviously told them of his interest. But if their actions were anything to go by, Meredith and I were considered fair game. They certainly didn't hold back from admiring us in our training gear.

We were surrounded by some eight young men in their early twenties, Sonya off to the side talking quietly to Kirill, when I felt the mood of the group change. Without even looking up I knew Dimitri must have approached – the young men acting the same way Novices at St. Vlad's would when my Russian God was close by. Sure enough, I caught a whiff of his aftershave and seconds later his strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me tight against his body and wordlessly claiming me as his. He dropped a seemingly casual kiss into my hair to underscore the point.

"I see you have met the female Novices from St. Vladimir's," he said in his melodious voice. "This is Eddie Castile, also visiting from there."

Eddie gave the guys a friendly grin.

"How does today work?" one of the guys asked, eyeing the tables being set up ready to hold the salads Olena had insisted on providing.

"First you fight one of my Novices or my little sister, and then you get to enjoy beer and food."

"What happens if we hurt one of them?" one of the unpromised Dhampir asked arrogantly. "They look a little delicate to me."

"Normal fight rules," Dimitri said, impassively. "No intentional hits to the face and no other illegal moves. Beyond that, go for it."

"Point sparring or with a stake?"

"Whichever you rather. We have practice stakes here if you want to use one."

"Do we get to choose which one we fight?" another young man asked, eyeing up Meredith hopefully. While not exactly encouraging him, she didn't discourage his interest, either. As soon as Dimitri had wrapped his arms around me, all the young men's interest in myself stopped.

"No. But we'll be doing another three or four of these, so you'll get a chance to fight each of them if you wish."

"What do we get if we win?" the same guy asked.

"Beer and dinner," Dimitri replied.

"And if we don't win? What do we get then?"

"Beer and dinner!" Kirill laughed, coming over to say hello, Sonya beside him. While not exactly joined at the hip, they were both smiling and looking happy. Dimitri had let go of me to shake Kirill's hand again, and I noticed his satisfied expression when he saw the respectful, attentive way Kirill was attending to Sonya. Maybe something would develop there!

We stood around chatting for another twenty minutes, and then Dimitri declared it was time to fight. Clapping his hands to call everyone to attention, he explained there would be four simultaneous fights and when each ended, those of us fighting would have five minutes to recover and get feedback, and then we'd start our next fight.

Dimitri, Pavel and Abe's Guardians Kirk and Swift would be adjudicating the sparring and giving feedback and pointers to us after each. My handsome Guardian boyfriend stressed the point of these fights were for us to learn to fight people with different fighting styles, so was quick to point out other than the well-known illegal moves, pretty much anything went. He then invited the Dhampir to line up.

"You and Eddie go before me," Meredith hissed, noticing the guy who'd been making eyes at her third in line. I shrugged in acquiescence. I'd already be going home with the guy I wanted to be getting hot and sweaty with!

Vika looked as though she were absolutely shitting herself. She was the year below Meredith, Eddie and me, but Dimitri was right. This was a great opportunity for her to practice, and she'd get a lot of useful feedback.

My first competitor was an unpromised Dhampir only a year or so older than me. Not one of the guys from Kirill's group, he introduced himself as Boris. I introduced myself, and we shook hands.

"Sparring or stakes?" I asked. I don't think his English was great, but I got the idea when he picked up a practice stake and passed it to me, keeping one for himself.

"I want you to take your time and get a sense of his fighting style if you can," Pavel advised. "It's rare to be able to take out a Strigoi straight up, so learning to read the way your opponent fights is a useful skill."

I nodded, hearing the wisdom in his words. The guy had more molnija than any Guardian I'd ever met. If he said I needed to know this, I'd focus on learning it!

I stepped into the sparring square, rolling my shoulders in preparation. My eyes met Dimitri's where he stood ready to supervise Eddie's match. He gave me a smoldering look, and then it was time to fight.

Boris and I circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move. He tried a kick that I dodged, I tried a couple of punches to see how he'd handle them. Given he was unpromised, I'd expected Boris to be slow and perhaps even a little out of practice – but he was fast enough even if his moves lacked the precision I was used to. And if his lack of precision and method was his downfall it was also his strength. He was more unpredictable than a lot of other people I fought, and he used street moves I didn't know. While I could have taken him out in the first few minutes, Pavel was right – I was learning more by giving him a bit of time to show his moves. And I was also conscious that if I slayed the first guy in under a minute, people would be less willing to fight against us and let us practice.

Once I felt I had a handle on his overall style, I started my counter maneuvers, never deviating from the standard arms and legs technique drilled into us at the Academy. But then I tried a couple of his street moves against him. I was slower and clumsier than I was when using my well-honed moves – I guess there was something to be said for muscle memory – but since I was in a safe environment I figured it wouldn't hurt to give them a go.

Unsurprisingly, Boris was adept at defending against his own moves, but that was educative, too. Generally, if you knew how to make a move, you knew how to deflect it, also. So as well as learning new techniques, I was learning defense.

We kept fighting. I was able to evade most of his hits, and while I got a few in on him, I was hardly trying my hardest. I wonder whether he was?

Finally deciding I'd learned enough I launched into an aerial, deftly kicking him in the solar plexus and dropping him to the ground. Before he'd even hit the ground, I was in position to land on top of him, straddling him with a knee on either side of his chest. We fell basically as one, and I positioned my stake. He hit the mat and lightly rebounded – up and straight into the blunted tip of my wooden practice stake. Had it been a real fight with a real stake, he would have been dead.

I climbed off him immediately, holding my hand out to help him up. He accepted with a smile and in his broken English complimented me on the win.

"No – thank you," I said genuinely. "I learned heaps, and if you're ever in the gym, I'd love to learn some of your fight moves."

I was careful to make sure he understood I was only interested in fighting techniques. Sonya had warned Meredith and me that as the 'new girls in town' Moroi and Dhampir men alike would be interested in us. I wasn't too worried about Moroi – we'd only seen a few in passing – but I didn't want there to be any confusion that I was spoken for by Dimitri.

Boris and I shook hands, and I had a quick discussion with Pavel about his technique and what I'd learned. While I was having a drink from my water bottle, I could see Olena, Karolina, and Sonya setting out salads as well as glasses for the beer. Abe was there, too – supervising the first of the platters of meats and other foods being set out on the long trestle tables.

Eddie had just finished his fight, but Meredith and Viktoria were still going with theirs. I gave my love a tender grin, wiped my hands on my workout pants and stood up, nodding to Pavel to invite the next competitor to step forward.

My second fight went much like the first. Delay, look, learn, make a note of anything I could incorporate into my own fighting and then finish.

By the time I was ready for my third opponent, Dimitri had switched with Pavel and came across to supervise my next match. I looked at the line and appreciated I'd be fighting Kirill.

"He's not a bad fighter – at least he didn't use to be…"

I flicked my eyes across to where Sonya was meant to be helping serve the food and salads, but her attention was fixed on the young man I was about to fight. Peering up at my own man, I thought he wanted to say something but was unsure of how to phrase it.

"It might not be wise if you were to win _every_ fight…" he started.

"And it might be a bit embarrassing for a guy if he was flattened by the young woman staying at his girlfriend's house?" I surmised, giving him a knowing smile.

"Well, I'm not sure she's his _girlfriend_ yet…"

Dimitri didn't refute the rest of my statement, so I gave him a grin. Unless Kirill were absolutely hopeless, I'd tank the fight. Dimitri was right – I didn't need to win every fight, and it wouldn't hurt for Kirill to be the winner in front of such an appreciative audience!

We did our handshake and bows, Kirill also electing to fight with practice stakes. My pride was assuaged – Kirill was still a decent fighter. In fact, he snuck in a couple of blows even when I was trying to deflect them. I'd be tired by the time I got through the five or six fights I'd have today, and I'd be bruised, too.

My eyes flicked to Dimitri's, silently asking him whether I'd put up enough of a showing against the young man who was so interested in his sister. An almost imperceptible nod from my Russian God and I set about trying to give Kirill openings to take me down without it being obvious I was letting him win. I'd given the guy about four openings, and he hadn't used any of them. I was starting to wonder whether I needed to trip over my own feet to give him a chance when he got me to the mat with an unexpected double kick. Once there he fake staked me, earning cheers from his mates.

I accepted his hand up with a smile, congratulating him on his victory and asking him whether he'd show me the double kick next time he was at the gym. He readily agreed before heading across to the trestle tables to claim a glass of beer from a glowing Sonya.

"That was a nice thing you did," Dimitri complimented me, pulling me against him even though I was all hot and sweaty.

"He's a nice guy, and Sonya seems very into him," I murmured, tilting my face up to him for a kiss.

"Not as much as I'm into you," he declared, kissing me with complete disregard for who could see. Actually if anything I think he _wanted_ everyone to see.

"Are you staking your claim, Guardian Belikov?" I teased.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he growled, pulling me even tighter against him.

After six fights, two losses four wins, Dimitri declared it a day, letting Viktoria, Eddie, Meredith and me get ourselves some food and a beer. I'd forgotten the legal drinking age in Russia was eighteen, so it was with great pleasure I grabbed myself a cold beer. Not that I think they were too hung up on drinking age laws; Viktoria was pretty openly sipping a beer, too!

"Did you learn much?" Abe asked coming over to say hello. He had been about to put his arm around me, but the sweat covering my body seemed to put him off.

"Heaps, actually. Even the guys I beat had moves I haven't seen before! I've got a list of new moves to learn and figure out how to defend against. Thanks so much for all this," I said gesturing to the forty or so people milling around eating and drinking. "I know it can't be cheap to do everything you're doing for us."

Abe looked amused.

"Rose I mean it when I say it's nothing."

"Still – you didn't have to. You've already done so much…"

"It's my pleasure, gülüm."

"Gülüm?" I repeated curiously, butchering the pronunciation.

"It's Turkish. It means 'my rose'" he said a little bashfully.

Now normally I'd rip someone's guts out for calling me 'their rose,' but from Abe it was ok. He was, after all, my Dad!

"Oh my God! Of _course!_ You speak Turkish! What other languages do you speak?" I demanded gleefully.

"Turkish is my native language, although I speak Russian and English more often now. I can also speak French and German fluently, and I can get my point across in a handful of other languages."

"Can you teach me how to swear? In Turkish? And Russian, too? Dimitri refuses to teach me…"

Abe gave me a wide grin, his eyes twinkling wickedly.

"Sure. What's the first thing you want to learn?" he asked.

"Hmm, can you teach me how to say something _really_ naughty?! What about…"

* * *

We were all tired by the time we made it back to the Belikov's house. We'd said goodbye to Abe and his Guardians at the gym, and then we'd all walked to the Belikov home, Kirill escorting a rather tired Sonya.

"We'll get you home, and then I can set you up with a cup of tea and the footspa I gave your Babushka," he tempted. "A sit down is just what you need!"

"That's very sweet of you, Kirill," she simpered as they walked, Viktoria making gagging gestures behind their backs, stopping only when she got a pointed glare from Dimitri.

"Not at all. Growing a baby is a very tiring thing for a woman. You deserve to be pampered and looked after."

Karolina and Olena gave each other pleased looks as they walked to one side. The afternoon had been success all around. We met with Yeva back at the house. She'd come down for a little while to watch the sparring but had got a lift back home earlier with Zoya and Paul.

"Put those salad bowls in the kitchen, I will wash them."

"It's alright Babushka, we'll do them," Dimitri offered.

"Nonsense! Look at your Novices – they are exhausted. It will be a busy day tomorrow; you all need to relax," she stressed.

Dimitri looked at the five or six salad bowls, his grandmother's determined expression, then to where I stood almost dead on my feet. Standing beside me, Eddie and Meredith were little better.

"Thanks, Babushka," he conceded. "You're right. Roza? Why don't we go get cleaned up and have an early night?"

"That sounds perfect to me!" I declared. "There's a shower with my name on it!" I joked, looking at my sweaty workout gear.

"I'll use the other bathroom upstairs, then I'm heading to bed too," Viktoria declared after getting a meaningful look from her mother.

"Eddie? You use the one down here first if you want?" Meredith offered. "After, I thought I might have a bath if no one minds?"

That settled, we said our goodnights, leaving Kirill setting Sonya up with a cup of tea and the footspa in the living room. Babushka went to the kitchen to wash the salad bowls, and Olena announced she needed a lie-down. It was a very obvious ruse to give the young couple some privacy, but no one seemed to care.

"Do you think he's going to kiss her tonight?" I whispered excitedly to Dimitri once we were in our room.

"He'd better. We've all cleared off to give them their space," he grumbled.

"What? You'd rather watch Russian sitcoms on TV with your sister and the guy she likes than shower and have an early night with me?" I tempted, slowly peeling off my clothes and putting them in the hamper. Finally completely nude I wrapped a towel around me and streaked next door to the bathroom. A moment later Dimitri followed, also naked bar a towel around his hips preserving his modesty.

"So did you learn much today?" he asked as I hung my towel on a hook by the door, standing naked in front of the bathroom cabinet as I located my shampoo and conditioner.

"Hmm… I learned heaps," I said, climbing into the shower stall beneath the blissfully hot water. I'd set the temperature quite high – just what I needed after an afternoon spent fighting.

"I have a list of moves I want to work on, and I know the others do, too."

"That's good," Dimitri replied distractedly, watching me as I quickly shampooed my sweaty hair. It was limp and smelled bad, so it was a relief to work the scented suds through my long locks.

I grinned as I noticed Dimitri turn around to lock the bathroom door. Not that anyone was likely to interrupt us; only Viktoria used this second bathroom upstairs, and she'd already said she'd use the one Karo and Sonya shared. But if Dimitri was locking the door, I knew it was because he didn't want us to be interrupted.

He hung his own towel beside mine, standing naked watching me shower. I could see his cock was erect, proudly standing to attention amid the patch of dark curls at the top of my love's muscled thighs. Noticing my carnal gaze, he casually wrapped his hand around himself, slowly working it up and down his length as he watched me coyly soap my breasts. I looked him deep in the eyes as I started circling the areola with my fingertips, letting out little sighs.

"So aren't you going to ask what _else_ I learned today?" I taunted, tweaking my nipples as the warm water ran in rivulets over my bosom and downward to other pleasurable places.

"What did you learn, Roza?" Dimitri asked, his voice low and gravely, eyes hooded. I saw his hand increasing in pace as he watched me watching him.

"I started to learn some Russian," I groaned, pleasure and longing starting to rise within me.

"Hmm? So what can you say?" he mumbled.

"I learned a few things," I admitted. "But right now that phrase that springs to mind is Трахни меня!"


	36. Chapter 36

"Wake up, beautiful," Dimitri crooned, lying on his side next to me.

Technically I was awake. I was just refusing to open my eyes! I was lying in Dimitri's bed – _our_ bed now – my arms above my head and a big grin on my face. I was so relaxed and happy, and I would have happily stayed in bed, but…

"Come on, Roza," Dimitri coaxed interrupting my peaceful reflections. "Church is in half an hour and then we've got the preparations for your father's party."

I scrunched up my nose, recognizing a lost cause when I heard one.

"Ok, ok. I'm getting up," I groaned opening my eyes to see Dimitri's gorgeous chocolate brown orbs raking over my naked body.

"You need to get dressed, and straighten yourself up, Comrade. Your thoughts, too. God sees everything, you know," I teased in a sing song voice. "He might set you on fire if you go into a place of worship with _those_ sort of thoughts!"

Dimitri rolled his eyes at me, but I noticed his neck redden in what was unmistakably a blush.

I bounced out of bed, standing naked in front of the closet deciding what to wear.

"You're not making it easy with those thoughts," Dimitri grumbled, his eyes lingering on my ass.

I giggled, selecting one of the only dresses I'd brought with me. In a deep wine color, it was a long sleeved, calf length wrap dress. The V of the neck was quite low, lower than was appropriate for church, so I wore a black singlet underneath – completing the look with my long necklace supporting my nazar.

Mom had given it to me at Christmas, and while she'd not outright said it was from my father, she'd hinted at it. Since it was his birthday, it was the perfect time to wear it. Looking in my jewelry pouch, I stroked my chotki – a beaded prayer bracelet Lissa had given me. It was a Dragomir family heirloom – and she'd given it to me in recognition of being her sister, best friend and future Guardian.

Out of the blue, I felt horribly guilty. Lissa was meant to be my best friend. The person I could tell _anything._ Yet for over six months I'd hidden from her what was going on between Dimitri and me. Here I was sleeping in his bed – accepted by his family and friends as his partner and lover – yet as far as my best friend knew he was my mentor and nothing more. I was disgusted with myself!

"What's wrong, Roza?" the man himself asked, noticing the change in my body language.

I sighed. I knew why it needed to be kept secret, but surely now almost everyone else knew about Dimitri and me, I could tell Lissa? I fingered the chotki.

"Just thinking about Lissa. I hate that everyone else knows about us but not her. She's meant to be my best friend…"

Dimitri nodded, listening - knowing when to leave me to work through out loud how I was feeling.

"I mean – Christian knows. But he won't tell because Lissa will kill him if she finds out he knew and didn't say anything. I could call her and tell her – but it's the sort of thing I should do in person. And she's likely to be upset, at least at first, and then Tasha might find out. Do you think she'd dob us in?"

Dimitri considered as he put on his pants and belt.

"I honestly don't know. Once I would have said no, but these days it feels like I don't really know her at all. I have no idea what she might be capable of."

I nodded wearily.

"Then I won't tell Lissa until we get back to Court."

"Allocation requests don't have to be in until a week after we're due back. It will give us a chance to tell her and work things through."

Dimitri squeezed my hand. I wasn't happy about continuing the deception, but if Tasha found out and turned us in, the consequences could be dire for Dimitri. So if I had to conceal our relationship for a few more weeks to protect him, I would. It didn't mean I had to like it, though.

Downstairs everyone was up and dressed ready for church. Sonya was the last down, and she was positively resplendent. She sat beside Meredith, and I immediately shifted down to claim the seat on the other side of her.

"Well?!" Meredith hissed.

"Well, what?" Sonya replied with a coy little smile.

"Oh spill already!" I demanded quietly.

Sonya smiled, milking our interest.

"Well… He brought me a cup of tea, put the foot spa on for me, and we talked. Did you know that if the third store is a success, he plans to open a fourth? I know it seems ambitious, but he's always been a hard worker, and he's not reckless with money…"

"I'm sure he's the next business review weekly cover story waiting to happen," I snapped, keeping my voice low. "What happened?!"

"He got a towel and dried my feet after the foot spa, and then he gave me a foot massage…"

Meredith and I both groaned. As Guardians in training, we were on our feet a lot and they were often encased in rigid, unforgiving combat boots. An honest to goodness foot massage sounded like bliss!

"And then?!" Meredith prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"And then he told me all about his stores and his new flat in Omsk. It's above the new shop, but it's two bedrooms and in a convenient area. It needs complete redoing, but he's got workmen booked to strip the place once they're finished on the new store. He said he'd appreciate a woman's eye with the decorating, and he suggested I could go to see it next week or the one after," she continued.

Meredith and I shared a knowing look.

"And then?!" I growled, wanting to get to the gist of things.

"And then he kissed me!" Sonya said, a dreamy expression in her eyes. "He was so sweet and gentle. It was the first time we'd kissed, but it felt like we'd been doing it every day for _forever!"_

I sighed and smiled, a dreamy expression on my own face. I knew _that_ feeling!

"He's really interested," Sonya continued sweetly. "He doesn't mind that I'm pregnant. He said he's liked me all this time, and he wants to see if I could learn to feel the same way…"

"And?!" Meredith and I both asked expectantly.

"And - I think I already do," she announced, smiling jubilantly.

"So what would happen? Would you move there?" I queried.

"I guess so. He said the flat won't be ready for a few months. I know people will think I'm with him because I'm pregnant and no one else wants me, but I really do like him," Sonya said a little defensively.

"Sonya? Anyone who sees the two of you together is not going to doubt how you feel about each other," I told her. "He lights up when he sees you, and you do the same around him."

"Really?" she replied shyly.

"Absolutely!" Meredith laughed, giving her a friendly hug.

"So a romantic weekend in Omsk, eh?" I teased. "Imagine all the things you two could get up to!"

Sonya looked shocked.

"There's no way I'll be able to go unsupervised! Mama, Babushka, or Karo will go with me as a chaperone!"

"But you're already pregnant," I muttered, "what do they think is going to happen?"

Sonya and Meredith both looked at me before they exploded in laughter, the rest of the table watching us as we giggled.

* * *

"And I think we're done," Eddie said, scrubbing at his hands in the kitchen sink. "Although I am not sure I will ever get the smell of marinated onions off my hands!"

We'd prepared a ridiculous number of sashlyks, but Dimitri assured us they were moreish, and we'd be scoffing them down later in the evening. After they were done, we'd focused on the accompanying salads. First, we made Olivier, which was a type of potato salad with carrots, eggs, pickles, meat and peas in mayonnaise. Then we made Alyonka, which was mushrooms, crab sticks, hard boiled eggs, cucumber, onions, and mayonnaise. The Beet and Cheese salad was made from boiled beetroot grated with garlic, grated cheese, and sour cream. The weirdest was the Crab Salad which had rice, tinned crab meat, gauda cheese and sweet corn – but Dimitri assured me it was _just_ the thing with the sashlyks, and to be sure to try it.

"Your father will be very surprised," Dimitri predicted, as we went outside to check the mangal. He'd loaded it with coals earlier and was now fanning the smoking coals, encouraging them to heat so they'd be ready when we added the skewers.

"Usually in Russia, you prepare your own birthday feast and spoil your friends," he explained. "Abe will not be anticipating a birthday meal in his honor."

"I want to show him I care," I said simply. "He's been so good to us."

"He has," Dimitri acknowledged, using the privacy outside to pull me into a smoldering kiss. "Come on. We should shower – the others will be home, soon."

We'd only just made it inside when Olena, Yeva and the girls arrived home. Viktoriya had been sent back to St. Basil's on the train after church, so it was only Karolina and Sonya, and they appeared to be having an argument. They turned to me, each wanting to include me in their discussion.

"I can't just drag a baby to Omsk," Karolina reasoned. "It will throw her out of routine. Plus it's a long way. I'd have to bring all her stuff, and I'm not sleeping on some bachelor pad floor!"

"Kirill said we could share his bed, Karo," Sonya pleaded. "He'll take the sofa. If I don't go, he might think I'm not interested!"

"Go where?" Dimitri asked.

"Kirill has asked me to come to Omsk for two days and a night. He wants my opinion on decorating his new unit," Sonya said, lowering her eyes modestly to the floor. "Mama said I could go, but someone would have to go with me." That she had asked Karolina to be that someone was obvious.

"And it's too much for me to manage with the baby," Karolina said firmly, appealing to Dimitri. "It's not that I oppose the trip, or Kirill, but dragging a baby anywhere is hard work!"

"Take Mama or Babushka," Dimitri suggested.

"Mama doesn't want to leave the house with you all staying, and I'm not taking Babushka! She'll complain the whole time! He won't want me after two days spent with Babushka!"

I stifled a snigger, and even Dimitri's lips were twitching.

"Can't you and Rose come?" she suddenly asked. "Mama can't have a problem with _that!"_

"I can't, Sonya. While I'd love to show Roza Omsk, I can't just leave Meredith and Eddie here. I can't imagine Kirill's house is large enough for all of us."

Sonya was looking more dispirited by the second. I could tell she didn't think Karolina or Dimitri appreciated that Kirill had pretty much invited her to Omsk to give directions on how she'd like him to fit out his new home with a view to her living there with him.

I gazed up at my Russian God, an idea springing to mind. I beckoned him down, leaning up to whisper in his ear.

"Comrade? Why don't we all go? It would be nice to see some more of Russia. Eddie and Meredith can stay the night at Kirill's with Sonya. The girls can take the bed, and the guys sleep on the sofa. And maybe we could stay at a hotel for the night? We could be ourselves without being overheard…"

Dimitri's soft growl and the way he closed his eyes for a moment showed he approved of my idea. While we'd indulged quite a few times since we'd been in Baia, we'd not been able to fully let go the way we would if we were confident we'd not be overheard.

"I suppose if it's during the week we could all go up," Dimitri conceded. "Meredith and Eddie can chaperone you for the night at Kirill's. Roza and I can stay at a hotel."

"Really?!" Sonya squealed excitedly. "You'd do that?"

"As long as it's during the week and Mama approves," Dimitri agreed. "And provided Meredith and Eddie are happy to go."

Another squeal and Sonya threw herself at Dimitri and me, hugging us both and thanking us repeatedly in Russian.

"I'll work out when with Kirill tonight," she promised, racing off to find Meredith and Eddie to secure their approval before suggesting the plan to Olena.

"You spoil her, Dimka," Karolina said, but without rancor.

He shrugged.

"This might be her only chance. He will treat her right, and there's a lot to be said for that."

"You're a good man," Karolina told her brother affectionately.

"He is," I agreed. "A good _smelly_ man. One more go fanning those coals, then upstairs to get ready!" I ordered imperiously. Tonight was important to me. I wanted it to go perfectly – and that included a clean, handsome and not smelly boyfriend!

* * *

We showered together, reluctantly stepping out of the stall and toweling off. There hadn't been time to do anything more than soap each other and kiss, so any amorous ideas I had would have to wait until later. I'd changed out of the dress and into sweats straight after church, so I sauntered back into our room, choosing fresh underwear and slowly changing back into the dress. Since we wouldn't be at church, I forewent the camisole undershirt, instead favoring a black cardigan that worked well with the dress and would help ward off the chill since we'd be celebrating around the fire in the back yard.

Normally I'd wear heels so I'd be closer to my Russian God's height, but since we'd be outside, tonight I opted for a pair of black leather flats. Not ideal with the dress but nonetheless practical.

"You look handsome," I observed. Dimitri was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a white button-up shirt with a tight black V-neck sweater over the top. Casual but sexy! He hadn't shaved, so he had a particularly appealing five o'clock shadow going on.

"I like," I crooned, stroking his stubble as I passed him to pick up my nazar and drape it on its long chain around my neck.

"I'll remember that," Dimitri said with a devilish smile.

We walked downstairs side by side to find the place a hive of activity. As promised, Pavel had sent over any Guardians not on active duty. Karolina was busy organizing them outside, getting them to roll large logs to surround the heaped timber which would be fire.

Paul and Olena were putting table clothes up on trestle tables outside ready to hold the food. Another Guardian arrived with the beer and vodka, to be directed outside by Yeva, the latter carefully piping icing flowers on top of the cake we'd prepared earlier.

Dimitri busied himself hanging some lights from tree to tree outside. While I was initially dubious, once they were hung and lit I had to admit they added to the festive atmosphere.

Meredith and Sonya were bringing the food outside, while Eddie ran a power cord outside, bringing out an aged portable stereo to provide music for the evening.

"We got a perfect evening for it," Dimitri enthused, coming back out after washing his hands after setting out the lights.

He was right. Warm, with clear skies, the night was perfect.

"Let me teach you the art that is sashlyk," he laughed, dragging me by the hand across to the trough with the hot coals.

Eddie and Meredith followed, ignoring a snide comment from Karolina about 'men and their grills.'

Ten minutes later, I could see why Karolina found the whole thing a little ridiculous. Dimitri was explaining to a fascinated Eddie how the heat, the distance from the coals, the type of coals, how often the skewers were turned and even the direction of any breeze was critical in the production of a 'perfect' sashlyk. I'd tuned out about five minutes before, although the smell of the skewers as they started to cook _was_ pretty good!

It was five minutes before the hour when Pavel sent a text letting us know he and Abe were about to leave to come to the Belikov's for Sunday dinner.

I did a final nervous check. The table with the portable stereo also held a handful of presents; a wallet from me, a nice bottle of vodka from Eddie and Meredith, some homemade house slippers from Olena, Karolina, Sonya and Viktoriya, and some unknown wrapped present that Yeva had slipped onto the table, not deigning to reveal to us its contents.

"All the lights out!" I hissed. "He'll be here any moment!"

Everyone stayed out the back except Dimitri and me; we waited inside to greet Abe and take him out for his birthday surprise.

"I hope he likes it," I said nervously to Dimitri as we stood in the living room, waiting for Abe and Pavel to arrive.

"He will, ангел," my handsome boyfriend declared. "He'll love it!"

The headlights of a car raked across the ceiling of the entryway as a car pulled up outside.

"We'll know in a minute," I joked, brushing my lips across Dimitri's tenderly as we waited for a knock at the door.

"It's less suspicious if I get it," Dimitri whispered, and I nodded, motioning him forward when we heard a solid knock at the door.

"Something smells good!" Abe announced jovially as he stepped into the entryway, Pavel a few steps behind him.

"We're eating outside today," I said casually, giving him a quick wave before he followed me through into the living room and then across to the back door. I stepped through into the darkness, Dimitri, Abe, and Pavel following me, before I switched on the lights and all the voices outside shouted "Happy Birthday!"

I spun to face Abe, a huge grin on my face.

His face was frozen for a moment. But when it did change I could see shock, uncertainty, and fear before it settled on anger. Whatever Abe had expected tonight, it hadn't been this, and he was furious.

Before anyone else could register what was going on, he stepped back into the house, quickly followed by Pavel, Dimitri and me.

"How did you know?" he growled, his voice barely contained fury.

My eyes flicked to Dimitri's. He was as confused as I was. Pavel looked baffled and decidedly nervous. He'd evidently not anticipated this sort of reaction either. I couldn't repay his kindness with the wrath of Abe Mazur, so I lied.

"It was in the Alchemist database… You've been so kind and loving; I thought I'd show you how appreciative I am by throwing you a birthday party."

Abe's eyes were bulging, and if anything he was looking more incensed not less.

"You want to thank me by reminding me of the worst day of my life?!" he roared. "How _dare_ you?!"

Since I'd met Abe, he'd never been anything other than generosity itself to me, but at that moment I could see why he was almost universally feared. He was not a man to be trifled with, yet somehow I'd grievously offended him.

"I'm sorry," I said, tears starting to trickle down my cheeks. "I didn't know this is a bad day for you. I just wanted to show I care!" I said, my voice becoming more uncertain with each word I uttered.

My hands nervously clutched at the necklace I was wearing, and his eyes dropped to see what I was playing with. For the second time in as many minutes he looked flummoxed, and then a cold, steely and vicious glint appeared in his eye. He reached forward, grabbing the chain around my neck and yanking it firmly. The cheap, thin links gave way immediately, and Abe was left brandishing the chain that held my nazar.

"Where the fuck did you get this?!" he screamed waving it in my face, all self-control completely gone. "Do you have any idea of how special this is? Is this some sort of fucking game to you? Because you're going to regret the day you ever chose to mess with Abe Mazur!"

He stepped toward me, and for a moment I thought he was going to hit me. He didn't, but hate was written on Abe's every feature. Dimitri stepped forward, pushing me behind his bulk, ready to protect me if that's what was needed.

"I'm so sorry. I was just trying to show you I love you," I whimpered, tears overtaking me as I turned and raced towards the stairs and up to the room I shared with my Russian God.

* * *

 **AN:** An early update! I am going to be away for the next week or so. I have pre-written (and hope to be able to upload from where I am and also write heaps more) but I can't make any promises! In the meantime thank you all so much for your support lovely reviews, messages, Facebook chats etc. And I am sorry for leaving it on such a cliffie. I really didn't plan it this way - this chapter was written weeks ago!


	37. Chapter 37

I threw myself on to our bed, burying my face in Dimitri's pillow. This was supposed to have been a special day where I showed Abe how much he'd come to mean to me. Instead, he was furious. Whatever today reminded him of was enough to make him hate me – and consequently, I hated myself.

I'd taken off in a rush, but now I was here I could hear furious voices downstairs. Abe and Dimitri, by the sound of it. They were speaking, well shouting really, in Russian, so I didn't know what was being said, but it sounded like it was escalating and by far the angrier of the two voices was Dimitri's. I was getting worried it might come to blows when I heard a third male voice interrupting the others; Pavel if I had to take a guess. He shouted for a moment and then there was silence. His voice continued with calm authority for several moments.

When the other voices started up again, they sounded more controlled. I could hear Dimitri's voice as he was explaining something, the name 'Roza' the only word I recognized amongst the unfamiliar Russian syllables. When Dimitri's voice finally stopped, I heard the voice I recognized as Abe's reply, and while most of the anger seemed to be gone, he still sounded tense. Yet I still had no idea why.

Pavel interjected again. His voice was too low for me to hear specifics, and being in Russian I wouldn't have understood in any case, but his tone sounded appeasing. Amongst two very angry men, his was the voice of reason. Dimitri and Abe seemed to be agreeing to something, and then the voices stopped. I heard footsteps on the stairs, and the next thing I knew the door to the bedroom opened and the bed beside me dipped as someone seated themselves next to me.

It was Dimitri; I could smell his aftershave. But I didn't look up from where my face was nestled into his pillow. Just then I couldn't face anyone. Even him. His huge hand was soon stroking my back, and while I was heartbroken, having my man beside me was still soothing.

"I don't understand what happened," I whimpered into the pillow. "I didn't mean to upset him. I just wanted to show him how much he's come to mean to me… Oh God – I should go down and apologize to your family and everyone. They all went to so much effort helping me arrange this, and now the whole evening is ruined! I've really fucked everything up," I wailed.

"Shh. Everyone's still outside. Pavel told them your father isn't feeling well and needed a moment."

"Don't call him that," I said sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"You saw the way he looked at me. You heard what he said. He hates me, and I doubt he wants to be my father. First Mom and now Abe… I just wish I knew what I did wrong. Why don't either of my parents love me?"

Dimitri jumped in quickly, rubbing my back firmly and reassuring me that both my parents cared. But I didn't believe him, so all that did was prompt another round of tears.

"I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding," Dimitri soothed, moving a little closer to me on the bed. He sounded far from happy about the situation, but I knew he was keeping his cool for my benefit. "Maybe if you talked to him? Explained you meant no harm…?"

"But why would he assume I had horrible motivations? 'Til now he's been so wonderful. I thought I finally had a parent who cared, and I care for him too. I know I'm probably crap at showing it, but I've never had a family. That's why I wanted to make tonight special - to show how much I appreciate him coming to the States to meet me, and then helping me so much ever since. He didn't have to, but he did, and I can't explain how after not having that ever how much it's meant to me. But now he hates me, and I don't understand why!" I wailed, sobbing into the cotton and down of the pillow once again. "I don't know what I did wrong, and I don't know why he thinks I'd try to hurt him!"

Dimitri was muttering soothing words and stroking me when the other side of the bed dipped.

"You didn't do anything wrong," an accented voice said. Abe's. It dawned on me he'd probably been there and heard everything I'd said. "I'm sorry for my reaction before. I haven't celebrated my birthday in close to thirty years, and I owe you an explanation why." He sounded tired and as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"You don't owe me anything," I said bitterly, embarrassed that Abe had obviously overheard my private words with Dimitri. I kept my face in the pillow, determined not to look at either of them.

"I do. This is painful for me to speak about, but I need you to understand why I was so distressed to have my birthday marked. Please, Rose. Will you listen?"

I nodded, still refusing to look at the men sitting either side of me on the bed.

"You might have noticed I've told you about my younger years and from my twenties but nothing of the time in between? Well, there's a reason for that. It is the most painful period of my life, and it started on my thirteenth birthday."

He paused, seemingly collecting his thoughts.

"Birthdays in Turkey are not usually a big deal," he explained. "In the old days, many Turkish villagers did not even know their date of birth, so parties or presents were uncommon. But I was the youngest of my family, and the only boy, so my mother spoiled me. For my 'coming of age,' as she called it, she'd arranged a picnic by the lake for our family. It was a place we had been to many times."

I could hear his voice starting to shake, but he took a deep breath and continued.

"Mine was a large family by Moroi standards. As well as my mother, I had a father and two older sisters. My father was loving but distant and remote, so our mother was everything to us. She was my sun and moon, and I was very close to her. On the day in question we had our picnic, at night, and afterward, my sisters went for a walk around the lake. They were near the water's edge when they were cornered by a large group of men. A group of human mobsters from our town. They put up a fight, both of them, but after the men did what they did, my sisters were killed."

I could feel the bed shake a little, and I could tell from his voice Abe was crying or close to it. I could only imagine the guilt he must feel, even though it was no fault of his. From the corner of my eye, I could see his hand on the quilt in front of me, and I very cautiously moved my hand to hold his. His hand was passive, at first, but after a moment he gripped my hand and continued his story.

"The girls had been gone too long, so my parents and I packed up the picnic and went to investigate. When he saw what had happened, my father tried to fight the men, but one of them slit his throat. Then they grabbed my mother and…"

Abe was incapable of continuing, so for a moment, we sat there together as he squeezed my hand.

"The last thing my mother did was tell me to run. To save myself. And so I did. I lost my whole family that night. With no extended family living close by, from that moment I was on my own. I swore I would avenge my family, so I infiltrated the gang; climbing my way through the ranks. They didn't know I wasn't human, or that they'd murdered my family for sport. I was careful to keep any hint of that to myself. But I learned the business, and when the time was right, I made sure they all got what was coming to them."

His voice was harsh and unapologetic.

"How old were you, then?" I asked, my words muffled because of the pillow.

"Seventeen," he said with a sigh. "I took control of the business, expanding the human interests and expanding operations into the Moroi world. It started with blood running; then I discovered a way to convert a little Moroi venom into a drug that humans would pay a fortune for. I'd get blood donations from young, unpolluted humans and sell it at a premium to Moroi with a taste for that sort of thing. As part of the deal, my buyers would provide me with some of their saliva, which I'd convert into a drug and sell back to humans. That was the start of my empire, but I soon diversified into anything I could that made money.

"By the time I was twenty, I was the head of the largest organized crime syndicate in Turkey and Russia, and I started to clean up my image enough that I could be a part of polite Moroi society when I wanted to be. That's what I was doing when I met your mother," he explained. "I was traveling with a bunch of aged Moroi, making myself agreeable and making respectable contacts."

"I'm sorry," I said, rolling slightly toward him on the bed. I didn't mean about his twenties; I was talking about everything that had gone before.

"You weren't to know," he said with a sigh, squeezing my hand.

"Since then I've continued expanding my business interests. I promised myself I would never be poor and I would never be vulnerable again. I have succeeded beyond my wildest expectations, and now at least three-quarters of my dealings are in legal, legitimate businesses, although I don't advertise that. I've been careful with my money and received good advice. The bulk of it is invested in stocks, bonds, and real estate. But I'd trade it all to have my family back."

While he was talking, Abe's other hand had started stroking my hair. Gone was the scary man I'd seen downstairs before, and back was the man who'd given me so much.

"Why were you so upset about the necklace?" I asked, still feeling the sting on my neck from where he'd wrenched it from me.

"It was my mother's," he said. "Or it's very like the one she had. The bead is called…"

"A nazar," I finished. "Mom gave it to me at Christmas."

"Did she tell you how she came to have it?" he asked tightly.

"No. She didn't even tell me it was yours, although I got the impression it was. She said when she was younger she got a lot of attention from men, and while it was flattering at first, it wasn't in the end. She said that it could be hard to tell the difference between real affection and something else, but that one day I'd experience real love, and then I'd know."

I peeked up at my father's face, and he looked confused, and then sad.

"It was the only thing I had left of my mother's. We weren't a wealthy family, and the landlord kicked me out and took everything we'd owned in lieu of back rent after my family died. One of the gang had taken this from my mother as a souvenir after he'd…" Abe faltered. "I took it back when he got what was coming to him."

I shuddered, trying not to think about what Abe had done to get it back.

"How did Mom come to have it?" I asked nervously.

"I'm not sure. Your mother and I only knew each other a few weeks and were only intimate for a weekend, and while it was diverting, it was nothing serious – at least to me. We went our separate ways, and I never saw your mother again until Sheridan. A few months after the weekend with your mother, I was in a different city with another group of Moroi when the room I was staying in was ransacked while I was out. The place was a mess, but the only things taken were a large stack of cash from the safe and the nazar which I'd also kept there. I couldn't have cared less about the money, but the nazar was the most precious thing in the world to me, and I was beyond furious at its theft. It was like losing my mother all over again. It didn't occur to me the robbery had anything to do with Janine. We'd parted amicably…"

I squeezed Abe's hand supportively.

"I am so sorry. I really had no idea. When Mom gave it to me, I thought maybe it had been a token of your affection. I didn't know she'd stolen it from you! I wore it today to mark your birthday and to remind myself to ask you about it."

"It's not your fault, although one day I will ask Janine if this is the one that disappeared. I honestly don't even care if she took it now," he confessed. "I'd just be glad to know if yours is the one that had been my mother's."

He sounded so broken; I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Dimitri was still sitting on my other side, his hand resting supportively on my hip as Abe spoke. He had wisely kept out of the discussion, but I got the sense he wasn't prepared to leave me alone with Abe just yet, nor was he happy about what happened - no matter what the reason.  
"I understand now why you're upset," I said. "But I want you to know that was never my intention. It was foolish holding you a party without letting you know, but it was the only way I could think of to show you how grateful I am for everything you've done for me, and for choosing to be part of my life. I really had no idea this day would remind you that you lost your family."

"It's ok. I am the one who needs to apologize. I made horrible assumptions without all the information. I'm afraid it's an occupational hazard, but I should have known better than to ever think things like that about my own daughter. If you forgive me, I'd like to try and forget this happened and move on from this."

"Of course I forgive you," I said sitting up nervously.

"Good – because I don't want this day to be about remembering what I've lost, anymore. I have a family again now. You are my family, and that's what I want this day to be about from now on. Now, how about we clean ourselves up and go down to enjoy the birthday party my kiz arranged for me?" he coaxed gently. He was looking at me carefully, trying to judge my mood.

"Kiz?"

"It means daughter in Turkish."

"What's the Turkish word for dad?"

"That would be baba."

"Ok, Baba. Let's go downstairs," I said nervously before Abe pulled me into his arms for a long hug.

* * *

"Perfect timing! The sashlyks are ready!" Eddie announced casually when Abe, Dimitri, Pavel and I emerged a second time from the house.

Pavel had been waiting downstairs but gave me a tentative smile when I'd descended with Abe and Dimitri. He didn't say anything, but he looked pleased when he noticed Abe and I holding hands and staying close to one another as we went outside. Dimitri was hovering beside us watching Abe carefully. Sure the crisis might be over, but Dimitri was still on his guard. I wasn't the only one Abe would need to rebuild trust with.

"Well, that sounds perfect! I love a good sashlyk!" Abe said enthusiastically, all sign of his previous uncertainty and anger gone. He was doing us utmost to be agreeable to all. "Everything smells delicious!"

And like that, genial Abe was back. He made his way to the mangal, claiming a couple of skewers and putting a little of each salad onto his plate and walking over to where Olena and Yeva were sitting at a table near the bonfire. Dimitri, Pavel, and I followed, each with overflowing plates, and the six of us sat together.

Olena noticed my red-rimmed eyes, and I saw Dimitri shoot her a look to let her know everything was ok. She was still concerned but left it. Yeva, on the other hand, quickly launched into a discussion about her garden and the planting she'd be doing soon with complete disregard for anything that might have taken place.

"These sashlyks are delicious. Did you make them Rose?" Abe asked, looking at me tenderly.

"Yeah. Well with Dimitri, Eddie and Meredith. We all helped, and we made the salads, too." I was trying to be upbeat, but I know I didn't sound myself.

"Did you know, when St. Vlad's closed, Roza couldn't cook a thing?" Dimitri jumped in, trying to put me at ease.

"It's true," I chuckled, pulling the meat from the sashlyk skewers before spearing a piece of the meat with my fork and popping it into my mouth.

Oh man – Dimitri had not been wrong about sashlyks! This was amazing. I was only half listening to the story Dimitri was telling as I tried each of the salads. They were good, too!

"… so once we realized Janine couldn't cook, and Stan was hopeless other than breakfast, as well as teaching combat I got to teach the Novices basic cooking!"

"Hey! I could cook before. A little bit…" Eddie joked, catching the last of Dimitri's comments as he came over to sit with us.

"A very little bit," I teased. "Castile – you were almost as hopeless as I was!"

"Yeah, alright," he agreed laughing. "So you're all set for Omsk? Sonya said Tuesday and Wednesday would be perfect."

"You're going to Omsk?" Abe asked attentively.

I looked around to make sure we would not be overheard by Sonya or Kirill before I answered.

"Yeah. Just for a night. Sonya's boyfriend has a business and lives there, and he's got a new flat. It needs renovating, so he's asked Sonya to visit for a couple of days to give her opinion on it."

Abe looked perplexed. It was like I was speaking a different language.

"Their relationship is very new," I explained. "But he's asking for her opinion so he can set up the apartment to her taste. It's not appropriate for her to go and stay there alone, so Dimitri, Eddie, Meredith and I are going to chaperone the visit."

"Meredith and I are chaperoning! You and Dimitri are going to stay at a hotel for 'alone time,'" Eddie said in a sing-song voice.

I gave him a level look. While it might be the truth, I was willing to bet Dimitri was just as embarrassed as I about having this fact mentioned in front of his mother, my father, his grandmother and Abe's Guardian!

"Got an issue with that?" I growled protectively. "Because I am sure Dimitri can arrange lots of alone time for you running continuous laps of Baia as part of your training if you do…"

"No problem!" Eddie said, raising his hands in the surrender position.

"Didn't think so," I smirked triumphantly, standing up to get myself some more food.

Abe stood beside me. Dimitri stood up to follow us, but I shook my head at him, letting him know I was up to it. Abe and I walked back toward the tables of food, him stopping to say a word to a group of his Guardians as he passed. Then we stood together at the edge of the bonfire, watching the flames in silence.

"I scared you today. I saw it in your eyes, and I'm sorry. It's been a long time since I've let someone get close enough to frighten me, and I'm not used to it. You're a remarkable young woman, Rose. I'm proud to call you my daughter, and I promise to listen before getting the wrong idea in future."

I could hear the remorse in his voice, but I could also still picture the anger in his eyes and the hate on his face as he'd shouted at me. It was going to take me time to move past that, but I was willing to try. Taking a deep swallow, I reached for his hand.

"I know, Baba. This is a big adjustment for both of us. We've both spent the majority of our lives with no one. I'm really scared of doing the wrong thing here, but if I do you need to know it's not on purpose. I want you to know I love you. I know it's only been a few weeks, but you're special to me."

We stood by the fireside, Abe's arm around me. Despite our misunderstanding earlier, I felt ok. It was ridiculous to think two strangers could become family without a few hiccups. Like it or not, we had a lot to catch up on, but we had reaffirmed our commitment, and that was a start.

"Thank you for organizing this for me," Abe said, staring into the flames. "It's honestly the best birthday I've ever had. I love you, Rose. I'm so glad we've found each other."


	38. Chapter 38

While it had started off badly, the birthday party had ended up being a success. Abe had seemed pleased with the small presents he received and even blew out the candles on top of his birthday cake after we sang happy birthday. While pretty much everyone realized something major had gone down when he'd arrived, no one brought it up, and the tension finally dissipated, so everyone had an enjoyable night.

Pavel had sought me out inside during the evening to apologize profusely for telling me about Abe's birthday, feeling responsible for what happened. He claimed not to have known it was such a sensitive day, and I believed him. The guy had looked horrified when Abe exploded, and it was clear he'd been as surprised as I was!

The night had certainly been a success on the Kirill/Sonya front. The two spent the evening sitting very close to one another in front of the fire, and by the end of the night they were holding hands and sneaking little kisses when they thought no one was watching them too carefully.

"Will it be ok, Mama?" a worried Olena asked Yeva, observing the young couple as the night was wrapping up.

"They will love and fight like any other couple, but he will treat the child as his own, and he loves her. They will be successful and happy."

"But she's so young," Olena sighed.

"You had three by the time you were her age," Yeva reminded her.

"Yes and look at the trouble that came with that!" Olena said although with a twinkle in her eye. That she loved her children absolutely was never in doubt.

It was close to eleven by the time Abe, Pavel and the other Mazur Guardians took their leave. Kirill stayed a little longer, helping Eddie and Dimitri bring the last of the chairs and plates inside, and staying to speak with Karolina, Sonya, Meredith and I as we packed up the leftovers and washed the dishes before he too left for the night. The evening over, we made our way to our respective bathrooms then bedrooms.

"How are you feeling?" Dimitri asked as I climbed into bed next to him. I'd been quiet, running my head through what had happened with my father.

"I'm ok," I said wearily. I knew Abe felt horrible about what had transpired between us, and so I'd made an effort to gloss over it for the evening, but he had scared me. "What happened downstairs?"

My Russian God knew what I was referring to.

"It got a bit heated," Dimitri admitted. "Your father was initially convinced you had somehow set this up to upset him. I was trying to explain to him that it wasn't the case, but he was too upset to listen. Pavel stepped in and told Abe he needed to shut up and listen, or he'd regret it for the rest of his life. That's when I told Abe how you'd wanted to make his day special to show you cared. Abe still wasn't convinced and was asking about your necklace. I told him I knew nothing about it other than your mother had given it to you. Pavel suggested Abe give you a chance to tell your side of the story. I wasn't going to leave you alone with him, so I came upstairs, too. You were so upset I was about to suggest he leave it for a day or two, but then you were explaining your feelings, and he was in the doorway listening, and it seemed pointless to interrupt you. I didn't mean to deceive you about his presence."

"He scared me, Dimitri," I said in a small voice.

"I know," he soothed. "Are you feeling ok with him now?" I could tell my Russian God was far from happy about the situation, but was putting his feelings to one side so we could discuss mine.

"I know it was because he was caught by surprise, but now I'm going to be waiting for it to happen again. Does that make sense?"

"It does. If it helps, Pavel said in close to twenty years with Abe he's never seen him react like that before. Your father is no stranger to violence and intimidation, but he's usually much more in control. I'm not making excuses for him, I am furious he behaved like that to you, but I hope you'll never see that from him again."

"So do I," I said a little wanly, snuggling back into my man's loving arms as he spooned me. As soon as he embraced me I could feel the latent tension in me disappear – his arms providing my comfort, his heart my heart's solace.

"Do you think we'll get married one day?" I asked sleepily, my mind coming back to Yeva's prediction as I was about to fall asleep.

"We will if I have anything to do with it," Dimitri murmured contentedly, nuzzling behind my ear and pressing his lips against my neck as together we drifted off.

* * *

"It's no bother. Really. In fact, I insist!"

Abe was being his most jovial and agreeable this morning, showing up at the usual time with the usual mid-morning coffees. We were sitting off to one side drinking ours together when Abe announced he intended to pay for a night at Omsk's finest hotel for Dimitri and me when we visited with Sonya.

"Baba," I started, using the Turkish word for father to let him know I was not rejecting his offer out of anger, "Dimitri is planning this little get away for us. He's already booked the accommodation and everything."

"But he's a Guardian, Rose. He wouldn't be able to afford the same sort of places I could provide for you."

"That's right," I agreed. "And can you imagine how hurt he'd feel if I passed up what he'd organized for us in favor of something more luxurious that he couldn't afford? I don't care where I stay – I care that it's with him and I won't hurt him by accepting your offer."

Abe shook his head ruefully.

"I didn't think about that. I guess I have a lot to learn."

I laughed. "I'm just working it out as I go along, too!" I joked.

"I'm excited to see Omsk," I said quickly changing the subject now I'd declined Abe's offer. "All I've seen is the airstrip and some buildings. Is there much there?"

"It's Russia's seventh or eighth largest city. Lots of students there. A small Moroi and Dhampir community, although a lot of the Dhampir there are unpromised and live in the human world."

"That seems a lot more common here?"  
Abe nodded.

"It is. In Russia, there's always been a decent number of unpromised Dhampir who work as mercenaries or who choose to live a life away from Moroi."

"I'd never really heard of that until I came here. I mean, I've heard of a pair of Guardians resigning to be in a relationship together, but it was a scandal."

The brouhaha when Abby and Xander Badica's Guardian resigned to marry another Guardian had been monumental. Literally the talk at Court and the Academies for months, the condemnation for the Dhampir lovers had been almost universal.

"Is that what people will say about us?" I asked nervously, my eyes flicking across to where Dimitri and Pavel were chatting a few feet away. "We both plan to guard, but we want to be together, too, and we don't want to hide it."

"Not if they want their tongues to stay in their heads, they won't," Abe said with a distinctly menacingly tone. I knew he meant it supportively, but it was too soon after last night. I flinched and moved across to where Dimitri stood – signaling our coffee break over and time to get back into training.

"What happened last night?" Meredith asked a little later when we were using the weights. Pavel and Dimitri were doing some technique training with Eddie, and Abe was on the far side of the gym with his laptop, so it was just us two.

I trusted Meredith, and she was a great sounding board, so I ran through what had taken place, although only mentioning my father had lost his family on his birthday – not how they were murdered or any of the circumstances. I also told her about the nazar and how it had been stolen.

"Do you think your Mom took it?" Meredith asked.

"Maybe? You know we're not close. Most of her life is a mystery to me. She could have been a topless waitress, and I'd have no idea."  
Meredith snorted, her eyes meeting mine, and in moments we were laughing maniacally. I was actually lying on my side I was laughing so hard, and Meredith was making little snorts when she laughed which just made me laugh harder.

"What are you two giggling about?" Dimitri asked, coming over with Eddie and Pavel.

"Topless waitressing!" I gasped, surrendering into another fit of giggles.

Eddie's lips turned upwards in a smirk.

"You've been training them too hard, Belikov. They've finally snapped!"

We stopped for lunch. Sandwiches brought from home. Usually we went home for lunch, but Dimitri said since Tuesday and Wednesday would be spent in Omsk we needed to make the most of training today. The selection of sandwiches was varied, but since pretty much all of them were unfamiliar to us, Dimitri cut them into quarters so we could try a little of everything.

First up was an eggplant spread sandwich. It tasted exactly like it sounded, and I wasn't a fan. The hot smoked salami next up was more to my taste, and I managed to gulp down the pickled herring with cheese spread, too. The roasted red pepper sandwich was awesome, but I declined the one with zucchini spread. The last two, pickled cucumbers with hard-boiled eggs and pate, radish and cucumber were quite good. I'd still go a peanut butter and jelly if I got the chance, though!

"How are we getting to Omsk tomorrow?" I asked over lunch.

"We'll take Mama's car," Dimitri said unhappily. Not only would taking the vehicle leave Olena, Karolina, and Yeva without transport, but the car was ancient. I had my doubts it could get to Omsk, and it looked like Dimitri shared those concerns.

"Why don't you take my van?" Abe immediately offered. "We won't be needing it for the next couple of days. You could give your sister's young man a lift back to Omsk, too?"

"Are you sure?" Dimitri asked Abe before dipping his eyes across to mine to check my thoughts on accepting Abe's offer.

"Of course. It's the safer vehicle, and we won't be needing it while you're away."

I nodded, so Dimitri accepted.

"Well thank you, Abe. I'll take you up on that."

The transportation decided, Dimitri was about to ring Kirill to offer the young man a lift. The plan had been for him to leave by train this evening, the Belikovs' car not being large enough to accommodate six.

"Check with your sister first," I suggested lying on the gym floor and relaxing before we had to start our afternoon session.

"I'm sure she'll be fine with it," he said dismissively.

"Check with her, and if she wants to give him a lift, she can ring and ask him," Meredith agreed. "It will give her an excuse to call."

"If she wants to call she can just call. She doesn't need a reason," Dimitri reasoned.

Meredith and I stared at him, and I shook my head.

"I'll never understand women," Dimitri muttered under his breath – but when he placed the call, it was to his family home and not Kirill's.

* * *

We were all up, dressed and ready by 7 am, Sonya complaining it was far too early, despite being subtly made up and looking gorgeous. After the first night Kirill had visited, Meredith and I had had a bit of a fashion makeover with her. Her wardrobe, to date, seemed to be tight and a little on the flashy side. Now she was expecting she wanted to morph into a more mature look, so we'd promised her an hour or two shopping to pick up some new basics.

Once we were in the van, Dimitri drove us to Kirill's house where the young man was waiting out the front. I was riding shotgun, Sonya, Eddie, and Meredith each in a row of their own in the back. In minutes, Kirill was installed on the bench seat beside Sonya, and we were on our way.

"I thought we'd go to my current flat first and drop off our things? Then I could show you the new shop and my new flat?"

Although Sonya and Kirill both referred to it as 'his' flat we all knew the reason we were here. In fact, Sonya had already confided to us she didn't like the old-fashioned domineering décor typical of most Russian apartments and wanted a more modern, simple look. We'd spent an hour the previous night on a Russian real estate site discussing her preferences, and I was glad we had. Apparently the average unit in Omsk was tiny with lots of dark, heavily patterned wallpaper, exposed water pipes and electrical conduit along with different floor coverings in every room. Furniture seemed large, oppressive and patterned, which seemed ridiculous given the small spaces.

Kirill nervously warned Sonya that the entire unit was a gut job, so not to be disheartened when she saw it. On the plus side, the apartment was huge by Omsk standards – almost 90 m² - and since new everything was required, she'd have the opportunity to make her own selections. Fortuitously, Omsk had an IKEA, and Sonya had already checked out their website for ideas.

"Is there anywhere you'd like to see in Omsk, ангел?" Dimitri asked, dropping his hand onto my knee as he navigated the highway.

"I'm happy to see whatever you want to show me – although I should warn you, Sonya wants us to go to IKEA."

Dimitri rolled his eyes.

"I'm not putting together anything flat pack," he declared defiantly.

* * *

As soon as I stepped foot in Kirill's current digs, I was relieved Dimitri and I would be staying at a hotel! While it was clean enough, it was run down and super cramped. His bedroom had a double bed that Meredith and Sonya would be sharing, while Eddie and Kirill would each be claiming one of the two sofas.

"It's just for a night," I said under my breath when I caught Meredith eyeing off the bathroom disdainfully.

The baggage dropped off, we proceeded to the new shop, getting a lengthy tour from the proud business owner. We obediently admired everything before finally making our way upstairs to the flat.

"Being over the shop means it will be lovely and quiet up here," Kirill said optimistically, carefully leading Sonya up a steep, dark staircase. "No neighbors to bother about. It's also very conveniently located. Groceries, green grocer, and butcher all close by. It doesn't look like much now, but we'll be tearing out all but one wall and starting from scratch," he promised.

We walked in, and I could see why he was selling all the good points. The unit itself was a dump. A series of interconnected tiny rooms, wiring was hanging out of the walls, the kitchen cabinets were swollen with water damage from a leaking roof, and even the tiles on the floor were chipped and cracked. There was not a single thing in the place worth saving. One look at Sonya's dismayed face showed she thought the same.

"Wow! Look at this space!" I enthused, trying to boost her spirits. "This place is huge!"

Once I got over the shock of the state of the place, potential did start to present itself.

"Is there anything you can't move?" Eddie asked, moving from room to room.

"Only the plumbing," Kirill said. "And this central wall. Because we're on the top floor, the rest of the walls are not structural."

We checked out the bathroom and toilet.

"Both of those rooms will be completely redone," he quickly pointed out. It was just as well – it looked like there was more rust on the bathroom tiles than glaze!

Eddie started walking around the place, asking where South was and carefully looking at the windows. He was looking at the smallest dining room I'd ever seen when he shook his head.

"You know – if you took down the walls between the kitchen, lounge and dining room, you'd have an enormous space back here. You could have a modern open plan kitchen/living with a dining table and even an island bench."

He was wandering around, gesturing toward which walls would come down. Spinning he looked at the other end of the unit.

"If you put the bedrooms along there, you'd have a large master and a very good sized spare and both would have two windows. If you did things that way, you wouldn't have all this wasted space in the hallway. The bathroom and toilet can stay where they are, just redo the walls to make the bathroom wider, so there's room for a larger shower. Then you could put the laundry in a cupboard here with an outside vent through the ceiling."

We all looked at Eddie in surprise. He'd taken a series of tiny, gaudy rooms and managed to visualize something astounding. The problem is not one of us could picture it.

"Have you got paper?" he asked Kirill in exasperation, drawing a quick sketch on the back of an envelope when Dimitri found one and handed it over.

"If you put doors in here, and insulate the new walls, the back area would be easy to heat. It's South facing so it will get most of the sun, and it would be a pleasant place to spend the day. There's room for a dining table, sofas, and a TV."

Kirill and Sonya were both looking from the sketch on the envelope to the space in front of them, excitement erupting on their faces.

"What do you think, Sonya?" Kirill asked his girl hopefully.

"I can see a long white kitchen against that wall," she said pointing to the diagram and then the corresponding wall where the small water-logged kitchen currently sat. "With an island bench and stools. The TV could go there, sofas facing it, and there'd be plenty of room for a dining table, too!"

"You could add lots of storage in the hallway," Eddie continued, "and since you're redoing walls, you could add built-in closets to both bedrooms. That would save you needing to buy closets and would make the space seem larger."

He continued scratching at the back of the envelope, adding storage where he'd mentioned. I was no expert, but what he was suggesting seemed practical and made the most of the space.

"What about the floor?" Kirill asked. "It's an old building and the floor isn't perfectly flat. Tiles will lift and crack over time, but carpet is not practical in the kitchen."

"What about vinyl tile? You can get nice ones that look like timber flooring. It has enough give that little dips in the floor won't be a problem, it's soft underfoot, warmer than tile and easy to clean. It's also inexpensive. You could put it in throughout the entire place, even the bathroom, then use rugs in the bedrooms for extra color and warmth?"

I think by that stage I was looking at Eddie with my mouth hanging open.

"How do you know so much about this?" I asked.

"I've always liked building and that sort of thing," he admitted. "If I hadn't been Dhampir, and had to be a Guardian, I would have been gone into remodeling and construction."

Amazing. I'd known the guy for almost fifteen years and never known that about him.

Dimitri and I stood cuddling as Eddie led Kirill and Sonya through the unit explaining his thoughts in greater detail, Meredith joining them.

"So what do you think? Good enough for your little sister?!" I teased.

"If they go with Eddie's suggestions, this will be one of the nicest flats in Omsk," Dimitri said with surprise but looking pleased.

I was smiling. It was all coming up trumps for Sonya.

But as I stood cuddled in my lover's arms, I felt the bitter pang of regret. Renovating and decorating our own place would probably never be on the cards for Dimitri and me. Our lives would be spent guarding – living with our charges in whatever room or space they deigned to give us. And that's assuming we'd even be able to live together.


	39. Chapter 39

"I want you so much!" I groaned softly into Dimitri's ear as we rode the elevator up to the room he'd rented for the night. It was nothing fancy, but it had a bed and no family members to overhear us. It was perfect!

Dimitri closed his eyes; his jaw clenched tight. I knew from the way he pulled his duster closed in front of him he wanted me too!

The doors finally opening, the elderly couple in front of us stepped out onto the same floor, thankfully heading to the rooms left of the lift opening, while my Russian God grabbed my hand and pulled me toward our room on the right. Reaching our doorway, Dimitri deftly used the plastic key to open the door, stepping inside and pulling me in behind him.

Even before he switched on the lights, he had me pushed up against the door as he dropped to his knees, roughly mouthing the crotch of my jeans, both my wrists trapped in one of his strong hands to prevent me pushing him away. Not that I wanted to.

"Fuck you smell good," he groaned, running the tip of his nose up the seam and along to my fly. "I bet you taste even better!"

Then without warning, he released my hands, sinuously standing in front of me before picking me up and effortlessly throwing me over his shoulder.

"I hope you're not feeling tired, Roza," he growled, carrying me across to the bed and leaning down, tipping me onto the quilt.

"I'm not tired at all Comrade," I cooed, lying supine and biting my lip while I watched him shed his duster and then his shirt. His eyes were on mine, and a wicked smile graced his lips as he popped the button on his jeans and lowered the fly, a taunting hint of blue checkered cotton gaping through the opening – forced forward by his already hard cock.

"See something you like?" he asked, referencing something I'd said to him when he'd caught me out in an awkward position back at St. Vlad's with Jesse Zeklos.

"I see plenty," I laughed, sitting up and resting on my elbows as he pulled his jeans down, stepping out of them. He was now naked other than his boxers – and they were doing a poor job of concealing his desire.

I eyed his package, licking my lips as I thought about what I wanted to do, and just how I should phrase this request. As always when I was unsure, I went for direct and to the point. Bossy even.

"Comrade? Take your boxers off. I want you to teach me how to suck you off."

"Roza? You don't have to…"

"Now!" I commanded, my eyes flashing with desire as well as demand.

My love lifted an eyebrow, silently accepting my challenge.

The fabric of his boxers slipped down his thighs, his member springing free. He gripped his shaft, pumping it within his clenched fist as he kicked his underwear free, walking to the side of the bed to stand beside me.

"Are we going to start with theory and then move onto practical, Guardian Belikov?" I asked coyly, pulling off my shirt, then my bra. Finally, I pulled off my panties and jeans, noticing they were wet in the crotch – and not entirely due to him sucking them earlier.

"That's exactly how we're going to do it, Novice Hathaway," he replied, watching as I moistened my finger tips in my mouth and ran them tauntingly around my areola before tweaking my nipple.

"Now first, baby, I'm uncut. That means I'm more sensitive there than guys who are cut, but it also means I don't need you to take all of me into your mouth."

"Hmm – probably just as well. You're quite a mouthful, Guardian Belikov…" I simpered, looking at him with feigned innocence.

He growled at my look, his hand tightening around his dick.

"It also means you can use the foreskin as a sort of sleeve and work it up and over the head with your hand."

He demonstrated a couple of times before he took his hand off his cock, gesturing to his shaft invitingly. I moved to the edge of the bed, wrapping my hand around his foreskin and gently pulling it up and over the tip.

"You can be much rougher," he groaned, covering my hand with his own and showing me the speed and the pressure he liked.

I followed his lead, listening to his hisses as they started to become soft moans.

"I want to fuck you with my mouth," I groaned, feeling the need to step up the action. My nether regions were already teeming, and the idea of sucking my man was a siren's call to my libido.

I leaned forward, running my tongue over my suddenly dry lips before I took the tumescent head in my mouth. It was still partially covered by his foreskin, and I wondered whether I should pull that back.

Dimitri's breath hitched, before he stuttered, "There are only two rules. No biting and the wetter, the better. I'll tell you what feels good and make suggestions."

I grunted in understanding, noticing the resultant surge, his cock bobbing between my lips as though nodding its approval.

Remembering what he said about the head being sensitive, I pulled the fleshy cover up and probed the opening to the foreskin with my tongue, snaking it inside. Hearing my Russian God's breathing accelerate I forged on – pushing my tongue inside and rolling it around.

"Fuck!" Dimitri grunted, appreciatively. "That feels perfect!"

I continued for a couple of moments, getting used to the feel of him in my mouth. My tongue still exploring the inside of his hood, the tip of my tongue found his slit, and I tickled it gently – rewarded by a salty trickle of precum. Sampling it greedily, I was relieved to find it tasted good. Sexy even. If this was a sign of things to come, I was more than ready to experience it!

Stepping up to the plate, I used my hand to pull back, retracting his cock-sleeve over the turgid tip, past the plump, fleshy ridge to uncover the entire head and part of his shaft. Keeping him safe within the confines of my mouth, I licked him for the first time, running my tongue around and around the head.

"That's it," Dimitri panted, partially paralyzed by pleasure.

I dared a look up, and his gaze was electrifying – his dark eyes burning in a way I'd never seen before. Satisfied I wasn't completely skilless, I wrapped my hand around his skin-covered shaft, sliding his foreskin up and down in time with my lips.

"Baby, I fucking love your mouth on me," he groaned. "Try pulling it all the way up to cover the head then push it back down with your hand and lips."

It took a couple of goes to get it right, but I could tell the moment I did. His manhood jumped in my hand, the thick ropes of veins swelling as his pulse picked up.

"Fuck…" Dimitri hissed softly, his eyes closed and his head thrown back.

He seemed to like it when I played with his foreskin, so the next time I covered the head, I tried sucking hard on the skin before I used my lips and tongue to push it back down the shaft. I was rewarded by an instant jerk from Dimitri's hips and a grunt that amplified until it was a long hedonistic howl. I looked up to try and gauge his level of enjoyment, but he'd lifted a hand to his mouth and was biting on one of his knuckles with his eyes firmly closed.

My tongue found the little piece of skin on the underside of his cock that joined the head to the foreskin. I tried tickling it with my tongue and felt his hand drop to my hair, his fingers spearing my long, dark strands and winding them around his fingers.

"That's it," he growled, apparently once again barely capable of speech.

I continued to pump him up and down, covering the tip, retracting his hood and then hollowing out my cheeks and sucking his engorged head and the exposed inner foreskin. He seemed to like when I lingered near the ridge where his shaft met the head of his cock – so I alternated between licking that then the cord on the underside, then pulling back before pumping his skin up and down the shaft as I did it again.

I knew he was getting more excited – I'd thought his cock was already rock hard, but it was getting even harder still. Pre cum was still weeping from his tip, filling my mouth with a slick, slippery substance that did wonders for keeping the area wet – just the way he liked it!

"Play with my sack," he growled, his voice harsh and raspy. "I want you to touch me!"

Obediently I moved the hand that wasn't wrapped around him from his thigh to grasp the hairy sack that held his balls. Cautious, at first, I stepped up my fondling, eventually tugging at them.

"Fuck yes! That's it!" Dimitri moaned, his hips starting to flex slightly back and forth in time with the strokes from my other hand.

Hearing his ecstatic moans was a turn on, as were the sounds emanating from my actions – the wet, sloppy noises as I pleasured my man with my mouth.

Dimitri hips thrusting toward my lips, his hand in my hair gently guiding my mouth down onto him, I knew it was only a matter of time. Determined to give it everything I had, I stepped up the sucking on each iteration, tightening my grip and speeding up my actions.

"So close!" Dimitri hissed, and I knew it. I felt the moment just before it happened – his cock becoming impossibly turgid – almost as though the skin itself was not enough to contain his passion. His sack shifted up toward his body, the skin puckering and tensing as though to hide his nuts from me. Slipping my fingers backward to stroke the area between his sack and his ass, there was an instant of absolute stillness before he exploded.

"Roza!" he roared, his pupils dilating as he wrenched one hand away from my head, instead using it to lean against the wall, providing much-needed support. His knees slightly bent, I rested one hand on his thigh, feeling the muscles there quiver with the exertion of keeping my Russian God standing.

And then he was filling me with his seed; spurting more with each pulse of his glorious cock. I'd stopped pumping, hand clasped around his shaft and marveling at the feeling as he ejaculated into my waiting, willing mouth. I swallowed once. Twice. As the twitching in my hand and mouth subsided, I slowly sucked my man a final time, pulling my fingers toward his tip to almost milk him of every last drop. I ran my lips over his inner hood, and then his tip, finally letting go of his manhood – my lips relinquishing him with an audible pop.

I moved backward on the bed, watching Dimitri cautiously. He hadn't said anything since he'd bellowed my name. His beautiful brown orbs were still wide, and his legs shaking. Taking my vacated bed space as an invitation, he spun around and flopped onto the bed, still suspiciously silent.

My mouth still filled with the aftertaste of his jizz, I shimmied forward, eager to touch my man. My downtown was a morass – slippery with my body's hopeful preparations. I was turned on. Sodden with desire and the fervent hope Dimitri would do something to assuage my desperate need.

"I have never cum so hard," an awed Dimitri rasped, his voice sounding pleasured but almost perplexed.

My eyes met his, and I grinned, elated to hear I'd given him a suitably happy ending.

"Roza no one has ever blown me like that," he continued sounding thunderstruck. "That was… wow!"

I smirked jubilantly. I hadn't been too optimistic about my first attempt at giving a head job, but by all accounts, I'd done ok. In fact great, apparently.

"I could tell you liked it," I whispered. "You've never called me baby before, and I think you said fuck more in ten minutes than I've ever heard you say it before… Say it again!" I challenged, my eyes staring deep into his, twinkling wickedly.

"Fuck…" he said sensuously, his lips and tongue making the profanity sound like the hottest syllable imaginable.

I shivered – not from cold – it was purely from desire.

"Did you like it?" he asked shyly, referring to my oral action.

I smirked, picking up his hand and bringing it to my lips to kiss his fingertips.

"You tell me, Comrade," I simpered, guiding his hand over my breasts, across my stomach, over my mound and finally to the hot damned mess that lay between my legs. My womanly juices were spread over my slit and thighs – a viscous pool of want begging for his immediate attention.

"Hmm – you did like that," he smirked, his eyes meeting mine. "But you're going to like this even more," he predicted, dexterously rolling me onto my back before dragging himself down the bed – immediately penetrating me with two of his fingers.

He was right! The pleasure was immediate; my delicate pink petals opening to him as he plunged into my depths. I could feel every bump and ridge of his fingers as they dominated my opening, coaxing a pathetic mewling from my mouth before I shamelessly demanded it harder and faster.

And he obliged.

I was senseless with libidinous desire, squirming on the bed beneath my lover's skilled and attentive touch. It was almost embarrassing the way my body responded to even his smallest touch, not that there was anything diminutive about what he was doing to me now. His fingers massaging me from within, I was already on an ocean of pleasure, each wave cresting higher and higher, when his other hand found my tight pearl, teasing it through its delicate hood.

"Yes!" I shrieked, my head thrashing from side to side on the mattress, desperate to cum but never wanting this to stop. I held there as long as I could, but in the end, my endurance was no match for Dimitri's, and with a loud, ragged scream I came all over his hand, my abundant juices a seemingly poor payment for the feelings he'd just elicited from me.

Removing his hand, Dimitri rested on his heels between my legs, laughing at the frankly 'just fucked' look on my face.

"Feeling tired yet?" he asked as he very sexily licked his fingers clean.

"Not in the least," I grinned. "I could keep this up for hours!"

* * *

I woke, needing the toilet urgently. I shimmied out of Dimitri's grasp but not before I noticed his face. He was smiling - almost a grin. In his sleep!

Not that I blamed him. Last night had been transcendent – completely eclipsing all our other experiences, with perhaps the exception of our first time in the cabin. Now we knew one another's bodies better, we were able to guide each other to previously unknown highs. The trust we'd established as lovers had paid off. I was willing to let him show me new paths to pleasure - which is what he'd done again and again last night – finally free to completely let go and lose himself with and to me. And the education hadn't been completely one sided. While Dimitri was undoubtedly the experienced guide, my curiosity led me to some rather pleasant discoveries of my own that I added to my mental catalog of how to get my man off.

I yawned and relieved myself, wincing as I wiped. I'd lost count of the times Dimitri had brought me to climax last night, but I was certainly feeling it this morning. A deep ache in my lower abdomen and a puffy, swollen downstairs declared that last night I'd taken a pounding. Not that I was complaining.

I dug in my duffel finding a pair of soft cotton boyleg panties, slipping them on. Climbing back into bed, Dimitri's arms automatically snaked around me, pulling me close against his taut, muscled mass. I could lie like this forever. However, I'd need to be fed, soon. Hours of on and off sexing had left me exhausted, but also ravenous. I hope the room came with a buffet breakfast because I could murder a plate of bacon and eggs right now! My stomach growled, and I could see a smirk come to my lover's face when he heard it.

"Good morning, Roza," he greeted, his eyes still closed and a blissful look on his face.

"Morning Comrade," I replied, a little embarrassed, flushing as I remembered some of the things we'd been doing last night, and the immodest demands I'd made of him.

"You hungry?" he asked suggestively, the double entendre not lost on me.

"Only for food, Comrade. I'm feeling a bit tender downstairs…"

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, his eyes flicking open and meeting mine in worry.

"Not hurt as such. I just think we might have overdone it a bit," I giggled, my body agreeing with me. "But it was worth it."

"I'm glad you think so," he murmured, smiling once again and brushing his lips against mine. "Come on. Let's shower and go downstairs for breakfast."

Stretching and then rolling out of bed, I followed Dimitri into the bathroom, shedding my just-on panties and stepping under the warm spray beside him. The water was soothing on my sensitive parts, and I could have spent an hour there with him had the needs of my stomach not been more pressing.

Back in the room we dried off and dressed, me opting for a loose pair of sweat pants, fashion be damned!

"Thank you for last night, Roza," Dimitri said, wrapping his arms around my waist, my hands automatically resting on his chest.

"Thank you Guardian Belikov," I replied with a smirk. "I learned oh so much!"

He smacked my bottom, immediately regretting it when I winced. Yep – I'd be taking it easy today!

We were about to leave to find food when my cell charging on the bedside rang. An unknown number, but from Pennsylvania, by the look of it. Court.

I picked up the phone and answered, immediately putting my index finger up to my lips to indicate Dimitri should remain silent.

"Novice Hathaway?" a voice enquired

"Yes that's right," I said, not recognizing the deep masculine intonation.

"This is Guardian Hans Croft, Head of Guardian Operations," he introduced himself. "I'm sorry if this is an inconvenient time, but I need to speak with you about your recent mission."

"Of course, Guardian Croft," I said, sinking onto the side of the bed, my heart racing at a hundred miles an hour.


	40. Chapter 40

They knew. They had to. Why else would the freaking _Head of Guardian Operations_ be calling me?!

Oh, God. If they knew about me, did they know about Dimitri and Eddie, too? What I'd done was stupid, and irresponsible, but they didn't deserve to pay the price for it. Ignoring Dimitri's bulging eyes and worried look, I put on my most professional attitude.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, perhaps we could start with your thoughts on the mission. How you spent your days, what you did?"

"Um… sure. Except I have no way of knowing you are who you say you are. You'll excuse me for being cautious, but you could be anyone. Guardian and Novice missions are confidential, and if I _had_ been on a mission recently, I'd be stupid talking to some random who rings me up about classified matters without some sort of verification."

Oh hell. I was just trying to buy myself some time, but I'd just called the Head of Guardian Operations 'some random.'

"You make an excellent point, Novice Hathaway," he replied. "I take it you know the number for Guardian Headquarters?"

"I do."

"Then I will terminate this call, and you can ring it. Tell reception your name and that I am waiting for a return call from you."

The line went dead.

"I have to call him back," I wailed to Dimitri. "He wants to know about the mission!"

"Don't incriminate yourself. Don't confirm or deny any wrongdoing unless he spells it out," Dimitri instructed. He was trying to keep it together for my sake, but I could tell he was freaked out, too.

"Here goes nothing," I grizzled, dialing Guardian Headquarters and identifying myself.

"Ahh, Novice Hathaway," the same voice as before greeted me when I was transferred through. "Satisfied now I'm not 'some random'?" He sounded amused.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. It's just I don't know you, and I didn't want to talk to someone I shouldn't."

"Quite so," he replied. "As I said – I'd like to speak with you about your recent mission with the Alchemists. How you spent your days and that sort of thing."

"Sure. There were nine of us at the compound. Six Novices, three Guardians. We were there to guard, if necessary, and also keep an eye on a nearby site of Strigoi activity. As well as those duties we were involved in teaching intensives with each of the Guardians."

"What sort of intensives?" He sounded curious.

"All sorts of things. Combat, sparring, Guardian policies and procedures, professional ethics, conflict resolution. We even learned to cook a bit which sounds silly but was actually pretty useful for people like me who grew up at an Academy and never learned that stuff."

I was nervous and rambling, I realized.

"So how would your days run?"

"We had a roster setup by the mission leader. We'd rotate between household duties, hiking in a small group to observe the area where Strigoi were known to have been, training and theory."

"You weren't bored?"

"There wasn't time to get bored, sir. We were on the go from dawn 'til past dusk."

"You did Guardian training with all three Guardians?"

"Yes, and it was helpful. They all had their different areas of skill, and there aren't a lot of female Guardians or Novices, so I got a lot out of training with the other women."

"Yes… There were two other female Novices and your mother there, is that right?" he asked. I had no idea why he was asking – surely he had the file there in front of him.

"Yes, that's right."

"And how would you describe your relationships within the house? Harmonious?"

I wasn't sure where he was going with this, but I played along.

"Yeah for the most part. I mean, things are always a little strained between my mother and me, and it's always difficult living in such close quarters, but we mostly got along alright."

"No misunderstandings or cultural differences?"

"Oh, plenty!" I laughed. "We're Guardians, or training to be, not robots. But we were able to work together cooperatively," I said, hoping he'd leave it there.

"And the Alchemists? What did you see of them?"

"Well, I was on a run with one of the Guardians when we saw a car leave the premises," I outlined. "And I was also present when Guardian Hathaway toured the Alchemist's building."

"Ahh, yes. Tell me about that."

"We were only in there for a few minutes. Guardian Hathaway did all the talking. Basically, it was a huge open room with a computer room and a bathroom in separate rooms. There were eight large tables, like really big dining tables, but they'd covered them with sheets so we couldn't see what was on them."

"And the Alchemist you met?"

"Male and late forties or early fifties."

"Was he happy to work with you?"

"Not really. He was wary and kept his distance, but he was civil. I got the feeling he didn't like having to interact with us, but that it was a necessary evil."

"How did you find working with him?"

"It wasn't an issue for me. I was there with a job to do, and I did it," I replied stiffly.

"And did you like your time on the mission? Did you enjoy it?"

I thought about it for perhaps the first time. It had been hard living with my mother, harder than I'd anticipated. Elizaveta hadn't made it any walk in the park, either. But I'd learned a lot and a lot about myself. And it had meant lots of time with Dimitri – even if it weren't private.

"I did, sir. I learned a lot. And I loved the daytime schedule."

There was a pause, and I could hear him taking notes.

"I've read the report about the Strigoi encounter on the way back to the Academy. Five kills?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Bringing your total to…?"

"Nine, sir. And a zvezda."

He made a whistling noise through his teeth.

"That's a lot – tell me how you earned them."

Again I didn't understand why he was asking. Surely he had access to this information already?

"My first two were earned in Spokane at New Years. The zvezda was from the battle at St. Vlad's, the next two molnija were from the rescue the next day and then five in the attack on the way back to St. Vlad's."

"So how many did you kill in the battle of St. Vlad's? I know you got a zvezda, but you must have some idea of how many you killed?"

No one had ever asked me that before. Not even Dimitri. And the thing is, I had a rough idea. Christian and I had spoken about it, and we put the figure somewhere in the twenties. I thought low twenties, he thought high.

"Somewhere between twenty and thirty, Sir."

"Some of those you killed with the help of a Moroi fire user, is that right?"

"That's right."

"And you were comfortable working with them?"

"I was worried at first. I mean, my whole life has been about protecting Moroi, so it was weird to fight alongside one. But as a Guardian to be, I have to use whatever I can to get the job done. Strigoi are adapting, so we need to as well."

"Hmm." It was hard to tell whether he thought this was a good or a bad thing.

"And you're in Russia now, I believe?"

"Yes. I'm training ahead of my trial and graduation."

"Going to graduate from St. Basil's, right?"

"That's right. Meredith and Eddie from the mission are here, too."

"Taking part in the elimination fights?"

"I hope to, sir."

"Well show those Russians St. Vlad's students can hold their own, alright?" he joked.

"You went to St. Vlad's?" I asked, immediately realizing it was quite a personal question.

"That I did. St. Basil's always claim to have the best fighters – it's about time someone took them down a notch or two!"

"Well, sir, I'll do my best!"

"Good. Well best wishes with that, Hathaway. You and I will talk again soon."

I disconnected the call, turning to face Dimitri.

"What did he want? Does he know about what happened on the mission?"

"I don't know, and I don't think so. He sounded like he just wanted to chat?"

"Roza – the head of Guardian Operations, the man ultimately in charge of every Guardian in the world, doesn't ring a Novice just for a chat!" Dimitri snapped sounding worried.

"I know that," I replied. "But that's what it sounded like."

* * *

"You two look very… satisfied!" Eddie teased when we arrived back at Kirill's flat.

"Shut it, Castile," Dimitri barked, still out of sorts after Croft's call to me.

"What's up his ass?" Eddie asked after Dimitri went to collect Sonya and Meredith's bags to take to the car.

"I got a call this morning about the Alchemist mission. We're not just sure why and we're both a bit on edge."

"Yeah, Meredith and I got calls this morning, too. Guardian Croft? He said he was preparing a report for the Guardian Council. Something to do with an idea for practical training?"

I almost sagged in relief.

"He didn't ask anything about… you know?!"

"Nah. Just wanted to know what we did every day, what it was like working together and that sort of stuff. It seemed a bit of a pointless call, really. Meredith said so, too."

"Comrade – Meredith and Eddie got calls as well. Croft is writing a report for the Guardian Council," I said when Dimitri reappeared with the girls' bags. "Something about practical training."

"That's good," he said casually, but his whole demeanor instantly relaxed, and he wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed my temple. "I told you there was nothing to worry about!"

I cuddled him, mentally rolling my eyes. He'd said nothing of the sort!

Once the van was packed, Sonya and Meredith wanted to hit the shops, so the six of us piled in and drove to the largest mall in the area.

"Are you shopping? The fabric on some of your boxers is looking a little thin… I think you could use some new ones," I suggested playfully to Dimitri.

"Roza!" he hissed, flushing adorably and checking in the rear vision mirror to see if anyone had heard me.

"It's ok, baby," I soothed, using the affectionate term he'd moaned in passion again and again last night. "They know I see you in your underwear… and out of it…"

"Gross, Dimka. Just buy some new boxers, alright?!" Sonya demanded. "We don't all need to hear about it!"

"I'll have you know your brother looks _very_ sexy in his underwear," I started, knowing the public disclosure would horrify my Russian God. "I like it when he wears nice _tight_ briefs, but he says he's more comfortable in..."

"La la la la la la la la," Sonya interrupted loudly, sticking her fingers in her ears.

"Rose!" Dimitri barked at the same time, lips pursed and red-faced.

"Well it's just the truth," I mocked, squirming on the seat a little. If I couldn't sit comfortably, I didn't see why he should either!

"Right. So first stop men's underwear," Eddie said stifling a snigger. "Anything _else_ us guys need to pick up?"

"I'm fine," Dimitri said through gritted teeth.

"Me too," Kirill declared, the corner of his mouth twitching as he regarded Dimitri. I could see he wanted to laugh, but he was courting Sonya and wanted to stay on Dimitri's good side!

"Great! _Zombie Apocalypse: 2056_ is showing at the cinema. If we catch the 1 pm session, we can meet up with the ladies at three and be on the road back to Baia so we'll be home by dark," Eddie suggested hopefully.

"I want to see that!" Dimitri enthused.

" _Zombies_ , Comrade?" I scoffed. I mean, seriously movies these days were far-fetched and just ridiculous. "Honestly? Who believes that stuff?!"

"It's not about believing, it's about escapism."

"You know, sometimes I wonder what would happen if a Moroi went out and showed their fangs off to the humans," Meredith said with a giggle.

"Oh! I've seen that! It's _gold!_ Liss and I did it one Halloween when we lived in the human world! I dressed up in a tight, black, short as hell dress with my boobs pushed up and all black eyeliner and stuff, and Liss dressed up as an angel. We went trick or treating, and everyone looked at me like I was the freak and then Liss popped her fangs. People thought they were fake, of course, but it was still awesome!"

"Did anyone freak?" Sonya asked curiously. "They look real!"

"Nah… She just said she bought them on eBay."

We walked around the mall, splitting up while Dimitri grudgingly bought new boxers, almost blowing a gasket when I jauntily suggested he model them for me later.

"It's not funny, Rose! I need the Novices to respect me!"

"They _do_ respect you. That's the reason it's so funny to hear about you in your underwear…"

Dimitri groaned and ignored me as he paid for his purchases.

We met up at the food court, quickly eating before the guys headed to the cinema and us girls went shopping for Sonya. She automatically headed to the tight clothing she'd always favored, but Meredith and I steered her toward a more mature look.

"So what were you and Kirill whispering about before you came to bed last night?" Meredith asked as she was flicking through some tops, looking for new things for Sonya to try on.

Sonya blushed, and a pretty smile spread across her face.

"Kirill needs to stay here for a few weeks because of the new store. He's going to start the workers on the demolition of the unit. He's planning to come back to Baia for a few days in a fortnight, and he was suggesting I come back here a few weeks after that to give the contractors my instructions for the unit."

"Has he asked you to live with him, yet?" Meredith pressed.

"Kind of. Last night he asked me if I could see myself living in Omsk if everything worked out."

"And you said yes, of course?" I clarified.

"Of course," Sonya said giggling. "I know it seems like it's happening fast, but I've always liked him. It feels like the right decision."

"Have you talked about the baby?"

She nodded.

"He said he doesn't care who the father is - he's ready to settle down, and he's always regretted not dating me years ago. He wants the three of us to be a family and for him to be Papa to the baby. He even talked about maybe getting married before the baby arrives."

Meredith and I both grinned. That was big news indeed! If he was talking about marriage already, it was only a matter of time before Sonya would be engaged.

"How do people announce their engagement in Russia?" I asked curiously. Sonya gave me a loaded look before she twigged I meant _her_ not Dimitri and me!

"In Baia usually the families get together on Sunday before Church. He gives a ring and she accepts it in front of both families, and then the two families walk to Church together, and the girl wears the ring. The priest usually makes a blessing for the couple at the end of the service as a way of announcing it, and then after Church, everyone congratulates the couple and looks at the ring."

"It sounds very romantic," Meredith said.

"I suppose so," Sonya replied, looking a little embarrassed, but hopeful too.

"Well if he might propose, you'll need a dress for Church!" Meredith exclaimed excitedly.

"He still might not…" Sonya said looking uncertain.

"Then you'll have a nice dress to wear some other time," I responded with a smile. "Come on – let's get looking!"

* * *

"So Kirill spoke with your sister about getting married," I announced, sitting on the side of our bed, brushing my hair. "It sounds like he's really keen."

We'd got back to Baia just before dusk. Later than we'd intended, thanks to a protracted farewell between Kirill and Sonya. She'd accompanied us back home while Kirill had to stay in Omsk. We'd had a subdued dinner, Sonya in an irritable mood, and now we'd all retired to bed.

"I know. After the movie, he talked to me," Dimitri smirked.

"So?"

"So he's planning to visit in a fortnight for a day or two, and then two weeks after that, he's hoping Mama and Babushka will visit Omsk for the day with Sonya to see the progress on the unit. He wants to show them he can provide a suitable place for her."

"And then?"

"And then he's planning to propose."

"How old is she?" I asked. I knew Sonya was younger than Dimitri, but not by how much.

"Twenty-two."

"That's very young to be married," I said, disapproval in my tone. Where was this coming from? I was happy for them!

"Not if they're in love."

"Still. It seems so young! How can she be sure she isn't going to change her mind? She's barely experienced the world! She has her whole life before her. Tying herself down – aren't you worried she might regret it?" I asked, my voice panicked.

"Are we still talking about Sonya now, ангел?" Dimitri checked, his voice tender.

My eyes dropped to the floor. He was right – I was talking about me.

"I don't know if I'm ready for that. Marriage."

"It frightens you?"

"A little," I admitted sheepishly. "The only married people I've known are Lissa's parents."

"What scares you, Roza?" he asked, sitting beside me on the bed and taking the brush from my hands before clasping them in his own.

"I don't know. It seems so permanent!" I couldn't bring my eyes to meet his. I was trying, in vain, to calm myself but now we were talking about it, I was getting more and more freaked out!

"Are you not sure that you want to be with me?"

"No! I mean I'm sure. It's just…"

"Just?" I could hear the hurt in his voice.

"It's just I'm not ready, alright?!" I snapped, pulling my hands from his. "I'm scared! Things are happening so quickly, and there's so much change going on! I don't know what I want, but I'm _not_ ready to get married!"

"Rose? Roza?! I haven't even asked you. This was about _Sonya_ remember?!"

I stopped in my tracks. He was right.

"Rose I'm not about to propose. Is that what's worrying you?"

I nodded.

"It's not that I don't want to one day. Just not yet," I explained in a small voice.

"I know that," Dimitri soothed. "There's a lot to settle before we go there. And I _do_ want to ask you one day. I want us to promise to always be together through the good and bad times. But not yet."


	41. Chapter 41

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Dimitri asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I said your name about four times, Roza."

"Sorry. I was just thinking about Abe and his birthday."

"Are you still stressed about that?"

"A bit, but I was thinking more about the nazar Mom gave me. I want to know if she took it."

"Well – the only way you're going to know is to ask," Dimitri pointed out reasonably.

"Yeah, thank you Captain Obvious," I muttered under my breath, careful to make sure Dimitri didn't hear me.

I was in a filthy mood, probably because my monthlies had arrived. Not only did I get bloated and a heavy feeling in my lower abdomen, but I'd get short tempered as well. I'd already told off Eddie today for talking too loudly, and I was seriously considering blowing off training this afternoon in favor of a lie in bed with a heat pack and some chocolate.

"You haven't spoken to your Mom since you've been here. Why don't you give her a call?"

"And say what? 'Hi, Mom. Hope you're well. By the way, eighteen years ago did you ransack Abe's room and steal his only remaining link with his murdered family?' That will be a cheerful conversation!"

"Well maybe if you ease into it a bit," Dimitri laughed. "She'll be hurt you haven't rung. Even if you don't ask her about that, I'm sure she'd appreciate a call..."

I put the pillow over my face and let out a loud groan. I _hated_ it when Dimitri was so reasonable and _right!_

"Fine! Pass me my cell. But if this ends badly, I blame you," I grumbled, taking the phone and dialing the numbers for my mother.

It clicked through and rang, Mom picking up on the second ring.

"Rosemarie."

"Hi Mom," I said, conscious I hadn't left things in a good way with her. "Sorry for not calling earlier, things have been crazy here."

"I understand. You're training?"

"Yes. Seven or eight hours a day. Abe's got his Guardians working with Dimitri, so we're doing heaps of stuff beyond what they cover at the Academy. We're doing this weekly fight club sort of thing, too. We fight the local Dhampir and learn some of the street moves. It's been handy."

"Street moves?" Mom's voice was laced with disapproval.

"Yeah. It's good to know some of the stuff we might come up against and how to defend against it," I said, neglecting to mention I was working some of the new moves into my fighting repertoire.

"Well, that makes sense I suppose," Mom said, still slightly disapprovingly.

"So how's the leg going?" I asked.

"Fine. I'm fit as a fiddle. I just wish Croft would realize that and take me off desk duties!"

"Guardian Croft? He rang me the other day."

"Guardian Croft rang you?" Mom gasped, sounding every bit as panicked as Dimitri had been.

"Yeah. He rang Eddie and Meredith, too. Something about a report he was writing for the Guardian Council about practical training."

"Hmm. That's interesting. He's not said anything to me about it. Has he spoken with Guardian Belikov?"

"Not that I know of," I told her, not wanting to give away the fact Dimitri told me everything, so I knew it was a no.

"Well, it's probably nothing," she said, still sounding perturbed. "What else have you been up to? I hope you're making yourself agreeable for Guardian Belikov's family?"

I smothered a laugh. Olena basically considered me a fourth daughter, I was 'Auntie Rose' to Dimitri's niece and nephew, and called his only remaining grandparent Babushka. In a short space of time, I had been welcomed as part of the family.

"We all get along well," I reassured her. "Dimitri's Mama, Olena, is amazing – I like her a lot! I like Dimitri's sisters, too. One is at St. Basil's so she's only home on weekends, but the other two live at home although one is probably going to get engaged soon and move out."

"Engaged?" my mother repeated judgmentally. She didn't spell it out – but I knew where she was coming from. Dhampir women generally did not wed. They were typically Guardians, mistresses to Moroi men, single mothers or blood whores.

"Sonya is seeing an unpromised Dhampir guy. He lives in the human world and has started a successful chain of electronics shops in Omsk," I explained. I didn't mention Sonya was also pregnant. Heavens knows what my mother's prejudice would make of _that!_

"Ah yes. Unpromised Dhampir are more common there," she said, making it sound like a horrid, dirty affliction and not a valid life choice to do something other than guard Moroi. There was no point discussing it; I knew my mother's stance on Dhampir duty, and any comments to the contrary would only rile her up.

"So Abe had his birthday the other day," I ventured, testing the water to see my mother's reaction.

"Did he?" she replied neutrally.

"Yeah. We had a small get together, and he noticed my nazar."

"Oh." One loaded word was her confession. It was judge and jury in one syllable.

"He wanted to know how I came to have it," I said leadingly. I tried to keep my voice neutral and encouraging.

"And what did you tell him?"

"I said you gave it to me at Christmas."

"And what did he say about that?"

"Just that it was similar to one he had that belonged to his mother. One that went missing some eighteen years ago."

There was a long pause, and I thought she'd hung up on me when I heard Mom say to someone that she'd be back in a minute and she needed to take this call in private.

"So what do you want to know?" Mom's voice was both hard and nervous. I could tell she was worried and trying to fall back on bravado to cover it.

"I want to know if you took it and why" I whispered.

There was another long pause.

"I did take it, but not intentionally. It was in a safe with some money I took. I didn't even know it was with the money until afterward."

"You stole money from Abe?"

"I don't expect you to understand, but I did. I'm not proud of it, but I'd just discovered I was pregnant. I was a recently graduated Guardian with no savings and no backup plan. I tracked Abe down, and came to tell him about you, only to discover he already had a new love interest." Mom's voice was very low now, but it was impossible to ignore the bitterness with which she spoke. "I couldn't see him stepping up to the plate to help me, and I didn't want to tarnish my reputation by having people know I'd fallen pregnant to a mobster. So I took his money and disappeared."

"Is that why you never told me who he was?"

"It's part of it."

Whatever Mom wasn't telling me was major. It was at the crux of the whole secrecy about my paternity. And then it came to me – the reason why she'd been so secretive for so long. It hadn't just been my mother's pride that had been wounded.

"You cared for him, didn't you?" I asked gently. "Back then. You loved him?"

"Aye," she said with a regretful sigh, falling back to her native tongue.

* * *

Dimitri was sitting next to me on the side of the bed when I finally hung up. Mom and I had _never_ spoken so openly before, and maybe it was my rampant hormones, but I was feeling teary.

"She loved him. She never told him, but she really cared. When she came back to tell him about me, he was already seeing someone else, so she cleared out the safe and left."

"Are you going to tell Abe?"

"She said I could tell him about the nazar and explain she took the money so she'd be able to go somewhere and look after me until I was old enough to go to an Academy. She _really_ doesn't want me to tell him that she was in love with him."

Dimitri nodded. It was all water under the bridge now, and nothing good would come of opening up old wounds.

"She was very open with you."

"I think now she knows Abe is a permanent fixture in my life she knew she'd have to come clean eventually."

"Still, it can't have been easy for her."

"No, I suppose not. I just wish she'd tell me other stuff. About her history and my extended family."

"Well maybe now her biggest secret is out, she might be more inclined to tell you other things?"

"I hope so."

"So where do they have her working?" Dimitri continued curiously.

"They have her going over Guardian reports correcting them. She's complaining about it, but knowing Mom, I bet she loves it," I laughed. I could just see some poor Guardian getting a printout of their report covered in red corrections in my mother's neat, officious handwriting!

"I bet she does, too," Dimitri smiled. "Are you feeling better now?" he continued cautiously. While he hadn't been on the receiving end of my hormone-induced wrath, he'd been treading carefully in any case.

"A little. My lower back hurts, and I'm feeling all crampy," I explained, looking at him meaningfully.

"Ahh," Dimitri replied, twigging why I was feeling out of sorts. The dude _did_ grow up in a household of women, after all! "Why don't you lie on your tummy? I'll give you a nice lower back rub," he suggested sweetly.

* * *

Before I knew it, it was Friday night, and Vika was back from St. Basil's. The first hours after her return were spent with her talking a hundred miles an hour, filling us in on inconsequential school matters.

"Oh and I saw the Vitsin twins!" she announced over dinner, earning herself a look and a word from Olena for speaking with her mouth full of meat dumpling. "They came over to talk to me at lunch one day."

"What did they say?" I asked quickly.

"Not much. Elizaveta asked if I was Dimitri's sister and I said yes. Then Artyom explained they'd been on a mission with Dimka and he was a great fighter. He was going to ask me something else, but I excused myself to go to class before he could," Vika announced smugly.

"Did anyone know Dimitri is training us here?" I pressed.

"No one said anything," she replied. "I sat near some St. Vlad's students the other day, and they weren't talking about it either."

"It doesn't really matter if they know does it?" Eddie asked.

"Not really – but I'm looking forward to Elizaveta's reaction when she sees us at graduation," I chuckled. "I want to see her face when we walk in, and I _really_ want to beat her in the eliminations!"

"You and me both," Meredith said with a grin.

"She can't have been _that_ bad?" Sonya asked Meredith.

"No. She was worse," Meredith replied with an eye roll.

* * *

"Ready to annihilate another bunch of unsuspecting Dhampir?" Abe asked the following afternoon as we assembled at the gym. All week Abe had been trying his hardest, and frankly, it was getting exhausting. I needed to talk with him, but right now I was focusing on the upcoming fights.

It had been a tense few days around the Belikov household. Sonya was unhappy it would be a couple of weeks until she saw Kirill again. He was dutifully calling her every evening after dinner, and the lovebirds would spend half an hour on the phone together, but it wasn't the same as being able to talk face to face a teary Sonya had confided to Meredith and me.

Little Zoya was cutting her first teeth, so was up all night and miserable. With her baby's sleep routine disrupted, Karolina had turned into a protective mother bear, demanding absolute silence in the house when the little one did manage to fall asleep – something almost impossible to achieve in a household of eleven people! I was still feeling tired and sore from my cycle, and while he was trying his hardest, Dimitri was tetchy thanks to my constant snippy comments.

"Heaven help the man who messes with Rose today," Eddie quipped from the edges of our group. I'm not sure whether Dimitri had clued him in, but he obviously knew why I was irritable – and that pissed me off even more.

"Fuck off, Eddie!" I snapped, shooting him my deadliest look.

Abe lifted an eyebrow in silent question, but Eddie knew better than to risk my fury any further.

"Is everything ok, Rose?" Abe asked quietly.

"It's nothing," I growled, picking up my sparring gloves and walking across to stand in line with Meredith and Vika.

The turnout was larger than last week's – and this time there were some women, too! A female Guardian home visiting her family had heard about us and come to fight, and she'd brought a couple of unpromised Dhampir girlfriends from town with her.

"Asimov," she introduced herself, using her surname as per Guardian custom and holding out her hand to shake Meredith's and then mine. Vika continued the introductions, knowing Asimov and the other women from around town.

"I can see why you girls enjoy training so much," Guardian Asimov said, casting an appreciative eye over to where Dimitri was chatting with Pavel. "Belikov just keeps getting hotter. And his friend is hot too! Is he seeing anyone?"

Vika looked quizzically at the young blonde Guardian. "Dimitri or Pavel?"

"Both!" Asimov replied, grinning wickedly at her friends.

"Dimka is. Not sure about Pavel," Vika replied.

"Damn. Is it serious?"

Vika looked across to me. She didn't know what to say.

"Yeah, it is," Meredith quickly stepped in answering Asimov's question.

"Figures," the female Guardian said with a sigh. "Still - I might challenge him to spar later on. I haven't seen Dimitri in years, but I wouldn't mind being pinned beneath him again!"

Normally such comments would be water off a duck's back, but today it was like throwing water into boiling oil! Meredith looked at me in amusement. She knew when it came to today's fights, I had dibs on Asimov and that I intended to wipe the floor with her!

The format was the same as the previous week. We each fought, took a five-minute break to discuss the fight and cool down, and then took on our next opponent. I had one of Abe's Guardians, Kirk, supervising my fights today. We'd worked together quite a bit during training, and I liked him. Dimitri was working with Vika, overseeing her fights and making notes to discuss with her later.

I'd had seven fights when I looked up and saw Asimov next in line. I raced forward to 'claim' her as my next opponent, narrowly beating a disappointed Castile. With short cropped bleached blonde hair and a lithe, toned body, Asimov _was_ a very attractive woman. As it turns out, she was a decent fighter, too.

We were circling each other mid-fight. We'd been battling for over ten minutes, so were taking the time to regroup. She was in better shape than I – this was fight eight for me, and I was tiring – but I was holding my own. Until she lashed out unexpectedly with a kick to my shoulder. I didn't even see it coming. I plummeted to the mat, and she was on me, staking me as we landed. It was indisputably a kill.

She stood up and grinned.

"You made me work for it!" she said kindly.

"Yep," I replied brusquely, not wanting her to know how pissed I was she'd bested me. My eyes flicked across to where Dimitri was standing, and _of course_ , he'd been watching and had seen me lose. "Thanks for the fight," I added lamely, not wanting to be seen as a bad sport, no matter how pissed I was about the outcome.

Dimitri walked over, Vika having finished her final fight. In fact, everyone had finished fighting, I now appreciated. Great – so _everyone_ had just seen me lose!

"Nice one, Raisa," he complimented, shaking Asimov's hand.

"Long time no see, Belikov," she smiled, giving him a flirty look. "I haven't seen you since St. Basil's."

"I work in America now," he said. "This is my first trip home in three years."

"Well America obviously suits you," she simpered, reaching out to touch his arm familiarly. "If you've got time, I'd love to spar with you a little later?"

She was shorter than my man, so she was looking up at him through her lashes. I wasn't sure if he could tell she was flirting with him, but I sure as hell could. Not that it mattered. He hadn't said a word or even _looked_ at me since he came over. He was about to respond to Raisa's request when I interrupted.

"Well I'll leave you two _old friends_ to it," I said with a sweetness more artificial than saccharine. "There's a shower somewhere with my name on it."

I stomped off, not bothering to check whether Dimitri was following me. I got to the edge of the gym, grabbing my bag from where I'd dumped it near the doorway. Turning around, no one was paying me any attention. Olena and the girls were busy at the trestle tables laden with food; Abe was chatting with Pavel and a couple of other Guardians. Meredith and Eddie were talking with a group of local Dhampir as they stood together eating from paper plates.

And Dimitri? He was right where I'd left him, still talking with the suicide blonde who apparently knew him well enough to have experience _lying beneath him._ She was standing close to him – closer than was really appropriate. Not that it seemed to faze Dimitri. In fact, as I watched she touched his arm again in an unmistakably flirty gesture.

"Fuck you, Comrade," I muttered, shouldering my bag and slipping out the gym doors. I hadn't been lying about the shower. I was hot, sticky and irritable and a night alone with a tub of ice cream sounded _perfect,_ right now.

The sun was setting, and I was happy to note the streets were deserted, the majority of Dhampir at the gym for the fights and feed. Not that I was worried. Dimitri had assured me there hadn't been an attack in Baia in years, so I wasn't concerned about the twenty-minute walk back to the house, even though I was unarmed.

The whole way home I was fuming. I couldn't believe Dimitri had blanked me in order to talk with some old flame! He was meant to be in love with me, for God's sake! He wasn't supposed to flirt with the first woman able to pin me, even if she'd only been able to do so after I'd won seven other fights!

I was stomping through the dark, furious at the man who'd claimed to love me when I felt a familiar yet unwelcome roll of my stomach. I hadn't been paying attention, but as I snapped to attention, I noticed I was on a side road still some five minutes away from the Belikov house. And if my stomach was to be believed, there were Strigoi nearby.

I quickened my step, suddenly alert to every shadow and noise nearby. I couldn't see anything, but the ominous feeling didn't abate. So either they didn't know I was near, or they weren't yet ready to attack.

In the end, it was almost a relief when I heard a cold voice mocking me.

"Well my my! What do we have here? A Dhampir walking alone after nightfall? You really should know better!"


	42. Chapter 42

When I thought about how I'd die, I always pictured that I'd be standing in front of Lissa, that I'd be giving my life in place of hers. I certainly didn't imagine it happening on an unsealed dirt road in Baia, Russia. But here I was – alone and unarmed – so that looked like the way it was going to go.

But no matter how tired I was, I wasn't going to give up without a fight. I mentally ran through my options. Strigoi could be killed by a stake through the heart, decapitation, fire or sunlight. None of them options for me right now. So if I couldn't fight, my only other option was to run. I was about five minutes from the Belikov house, but I couldn't lead a Strigoi there. Yeva was there with Zoya and Paul, and they'd just be killed alongside me.

A better bet would be to sprint back to town, but I was exhausted from the fights, and I knew there was no way I'd be able to outrun a Strigoi in my current state. All that would do is exhaust me further before it caught up with me and I'd have to fight anyway. So it was going to be plan C. Fight here, and hope to God somehow, unarmed, I'd manage to pull off the impossible.

"I should know a lot of things," I murmured, knowing with her keen hearing the Strigoi would be able to hear me.

I peered into the dark, looking at the monster in front of me. Female, and once Moroi, she was young when her aging had stopped. My own age, or perhaps a few years older. There was no way of knowing how long ago she'd been turned, but something about her voice made me think it wasn't too long ago. But maybe it was her appearance making me believe that?

"You're closer to a Dhampir town than your sort tends to get," I said, trying to get a sense of whether she was alone.

"A commune?" she growled in distaste.

She didn't know where she was. That's interesting.

"Something like that," I murmured.

"Well you'll be used to the bite then," she said gleefully, "but I promise you my bite will make everything else pale in comparison."

I didn't acknowledge her words. I didn't have time to let her get to me. My chances were already dismal enough – add anger to them, and it would only be worse for me. I started to circle her, trying to get an idea of whether she could fight. She kept her eyes on me but didn't move toward the trap. It was as though she were studying me every bit as much as I was her.

And then she jumped forward as if to grab me. It was a clumsy move, and I easily evaded her. She tried again, surprised to see me fall into a natural fighting stance – my muscle memory from hours of long practice filling in the gaps left by exhaustion. I batted her away from me, astonished to find that while she certainly had speed and power, she seemed genuinely clueless about fighting or how to approach a Guardian. I started to wonder whether she'd ever fought before.

But then all time for thinking was gone. Experienced, or not, she was still faster and fresher than I, and all this dodging was doing was tiring me further. But what else could I do? I had no weapon with which to attack her, and the roadside was depressingly devoid of swords or charmed silver stakes. And I knew that despite what horror movies would have you believe, it was a lot harder to decapitate someone than they made out. It wasn't physically possible to rip someone's head from their body with hands alone.

I was casting my eyes around the roadside looking for something, _anything,_ I could use to defend myself, but the darkness wasn't helping. Dusk had quickly turned into a dark moonless night, and even the light of the stars was hidden behind clouds. I could barely see five feet away from me, but I knew this road. There was nothing to help me here. So I turned back to the Strigoi, fending her off and waiting for the inevitable.

I was so focused on the fight I didn't see Yeva until she was almost upon us – materializing out of the gloom behind the Strigoi.

"Take this!" she snapped, tossing something through the air toward me. A stake! Somehow she'd known I would need a stake, and had come to bring me one.

The Strigoi spun to face Yeva as I caught the twelve inches of silver; the undead monster had been too busy with me to hear Dimitri's wily old grandmother approach. She sprang forward, grabbing the old woman and wrenching her neck to one side, preparing to drain her.

And I saw red. I'd never had much of a family, but the Belikovs had welcomed me from the day dot as one of their own. Dimitri's crazy old grandmother was _mine_ now, too, and I wasn't going to let some Strigoi take her!

I belted the Strigoi on the side of the head with the heal of the stake before her fangs could pierce Yeva's neck. She dropped the brave old lady like a sack of potatoes, and I heard a sickening crunch before the undead girl turned back to face me.

Enraged that her meal was interrupted she roared and lunged, recognizing the glint of the stake too late. Her own inattention caused her downfall, the stake sliding between her ribs and through the muscles and tendons protecting her heart. Her momentum halted by her demise, her face was inches from mine as the light faded from her eyes. For just a moment she smiled at me – peace and thanks in her gaze - and then she was gone, and I pushed her backward, the stake sliding out of her body even more effortlessly than it had gone in.

"Yeva?! Are you alright?" I asked urgently, seeing Dimitri's grandmother sprawled artlessly on the dirt behind the Strigoi's lifeless body.

"I told you to call me Babushka," she growled, trying to conceal her pain beneath her usual prickly demeanor.

I crouched beside her after checking my stomach to be sure there was no other Strigoi nearby.

"Ok. _Babushka_. I need you to tell me where and how badly you're injured."

"I'm fine," she lied. "Although my ankle is a little sore."

My eyes dropped to her feet, and I swallowed a particularly colorful word. I'd suffered a broken ankle myself, and I knew how it felt. And there was no doubt one of Yeva's ankles was broken. I looked at her, sympathy in my eyes. I was going to have to straighten the bones, so the blood supply was not impeded. And it was going to hurt like hell.

"I was a Guardian myself once," she said, referring to the promise mark and molnija she bore on her neck – proud reminders of her own sacrifice and contribution to protecting the Moroi race.

"You're a good girl, Rose. This will probably hurt you more than it does me," she continued, pointing to her ankle. She knew what I had to do, and she was telling me she was ready for it. I nodded, slipping her shoe from her foot before it swelled so much I'd be unable to get it off.

"On the count of three," I said, counting her in but pulling and straightening the foot at two. And other than a small moan, the old bird made no noise. I would have been screaming, but she internalized it all.

"That's as good as I can do until we get you to a hospital," I said apologetically. "Where's the closest house?

"Everyone else is out between here and home. I had to leave Zoya with Paul, so we need to get back," she said sounding a little worried.

I nodded. There was no way she was going to be able to walk, so I tried to scoop her up into my arms.

"I'm too heavy. Let me lean on you instead. But call Dimitri. There is no point walking when we can drive."

I hadn't even thought about calling for help. But after his performance at the gym, there was no way I was calling _Dimitri!_ So I rummaged in my bag, finding my phone and dialing the only other person I knew would help me, no questions asked.

"Rose?" Abe answered on the second ring. "Where are you? Everyone's looking for you!"

"I had a bit of a run in with a Strigoi. I'm on the dirt road near the lake on the way to the Belikov house," I said wearily. "Dimitri's grandmother is here, and she's injured. Can you come and get us?"

I could hear Abe barking orders in Turkish before he came back on the line, assuring me he'd be there as quickly as possible. Muttering my thanks, I rang off, tucking Yeva's stake into the waistband of my pants. I put my arms around her waist, taking as much of her weight as I could as I shuffled to the edge of the road. It would be just my luck to survive a Strigoi attack only to be killed by the rescue car when it arrived!

It felt like hours, but it was only minutes later when Abe's familiar van appeared, lights on high beam. I waved in exhaustion, the engine's deceleration telling me they'd spotted us. The van pulled up, and Dimitri sprung from the rear, Abe, and Pavel directly behind him.

"Roza!" he said in a panicked voice. "What the hell happened?"

I was too angry even to reply, but I was spared the necessity by his furious grandmother. Reaching out to him, she allowed him to lift her up before she deftly swiped the back of his head.

"You messed up, that's what happened!" she growled. "First you upset her, and then you let her wander the streets at night without a weapon. She could have been killed!"

Dimitri was muttering what I presumed were apologies in Russian to his grandmother while carrying her to the van. Abe came over to me and pulled me into an embrace.

"Don't scare me like that!" he growled, tightening his arms around me. We stood in each other's arms for a moment before he helped me to the van. Dimitri was in the back with his grandmother settling her onto one of the bench seats.

"Paul and Zoya are at the house alone. Take us home, and I'll call Oksana," Yeva instructed imperiously, giving Dimitri her best stink-eye.

"Yes Babushka," a chastened Dimitri acknowledged, daring a quick look at me before climbing into the driver's seat and gunning the engine to life. In less than a minute we were home, Dimitri wordlessly passing me his keys before helping his grandmother from the car. I went ahead of them, opening the front door and calling out to Paul that we were back.

Bringing a footstool over to Yeva's favorite armchair, Dimitri had only just settled her when a panicked Olena, Sonya, Karolina, Meredith, Eddie, and Viktoria arrived. Olena burst into the living room, firing questions at Dimitri, Abe, and Yeva in rapid Russian.

I felt drained, so used the confusion to slip away, going upstairs to the bathroom and locking myself inside. Slowly peeling off my fetid workout gear, I rested the stake on the bathroom counter, looking at it for the first time. It looked and felt old. While it was smooth and tarnish free, the silver was dull and the patina on the surface hinted at a long history. If I had to hazard a guess, this was one of the two stakes Yeva would have been given at her graduation.

Touched she'd trusted me to use one of her stakes, and freaked out there'd been the need, I turned on the taps, stepping into the warm shower and letting the warm water wash the sweat and stress from my tired muscles. More than anything I wanted to climb into a fresh pair of pajamas and go to sleep.

When I stepped out of the stall, the house was quiet. I could hear the murmur of voices downstairs, but the top floor was blissfully silent. I scooped my workout gear and Yeva's stake up in one arm, awkwardly holding my towel about me with another. I quickly padded into Dimitri's room, only to find the man himself sitting silently on the side of our bed waiting for me.

"Roza…" he moaned, looking at me tenderly. "What happened? Why did you leave?!"

I was angry, and if anything now I was home and safe I was even more furious.

"I didn't want to stand around being ignored watching you flirt with Guardian Asimov," I replied.

"Flirting?" Dimitri asked incredulously. "I wasn't flirting!"

"I wouldn't know! After you blanked me while she was throwing herself at you, I left," I snapped, lifting my chin and refusing to look at him. "Is she coming here tonight? Did you need me to pack up my stuff and move downstairs to room with Meredith? I mean – it would be awkward trying to get it on with your ex with me here, and I'm not in the mood for a threesome!"

"Rose? Roza! I didn't _flirt_ with Raisa, and I don't think she was flirting with me!"

"She told Meredith and I she was going to spar with you. That she wouldn't mind being _pinned beneath you again!"_

Dimitri's eyebrows drew together in what appeared to be genuine confusion.

"Do you go around pinning women as foreplay? Is that your pickup technique?" I shouted, my voice trembling a little. "I mean it worked on me, and I guess I was stupid to think I was the first you'd tried it on! You know what? I don't think I even want to stay here. Is Abe still downstairs? I think I might go stay with him for a week or two," I growled, tossing my hair defiantly.

"Rose!" Dimitri gasped in surprise and exasperation, his voice raised to match my own. _"Nothing_ is going on with Raisa and me! She's a friend's little sister. She was in my house at St. Basil's, so I fought her a couple of times over the years, but there was never _anything_ between us! I was asking her about her brother!"

Dimitri's assertions had the ring of truth. But he'd still ignored me, and I was still hurt.

"You didn't introduce me. You didn't even _look_ at me. I'm not some plaything you can pick up or put down when you feel like it," I growled, my eyes bright with anger. "I'm a grown woman, and I won't put up with being ignored."

"I'm sorry," Dimitri said apologetically. "I didn't mean to ignore or disrespect you. It was thoughtless of me, and I won't let you feel unimportant again."

I raised my eyebrows at him dubiously.

"You're everything to me, ангел. Will you give me the chance to make it up to you? Please, Roza? I want you to know and feel that you're my number one all the time. I failed at that today, and I'm sorry."

I looked at him warily, tossing my hair again. I turned away from him, dropping the towel and ignoring him as I quickly changed into pajamas. I climbed into bed, still not looking at him, lying as close to the edge on my side as I could. I'd had no intention of rooming with Meredith or going to stay at Abe's, but Dimitri needed to know he wasn't fully forgiven, yet!

"Is Babushka ok?" I asked in a tense voice.

"Yeah. Oksana is here and going to heal her."

"The spirit user? I want to meet her!"

"She wants to meet you, too. She's just back from a fortnight visiting her sister, but she's asked us to dinner at her place on Monday."

I nodded. If she were anything like Lissa, she'd be tired after a healing – but I was excited at the prospect of meeting her and her husband. They'd be the first shadow-kissed pair I'd met.

"I was so scared when Abe said you'd faced a Strigoi," Dimitri whispered, climbing into bed beside me. "I knew you were alone and unarmed."

"Alone until Babushka came with a stake. She risked her life. Lucky _she_ was paying attention to me," I snapped, reaching up and turning off my bedside lamp, signaling an end to our conversation.

* * *

I was deeply asleep the next morning when there was a knock at our bedroom door. Dimitri was curled possessively around me, and uncharacteristically he didn't stir. I tried to extricate myself from his determined grasp, but as I attempted to slip from his arms, they tightened around me. The knock was repeated.

Checking we were at least decent, I called out "Come in."

The door opened, and Olena's face peered around the door.

"Sorry – I tried to get up, but he won't let me!" I explained as the woman who was basically my mother in law took in my disheveled state and her son's arms wrapped firmly around me.

"Have you two made up?" she asked, cutting straight to the chase.

I looked at her questioningly.

"The whole house heard you shouting last night," she explained apologetically.

"Not really. He completely ignored me - and ask Meredith, that woman _was_ flirting with him," I grumbled.

Olena eyed the two of us indulgently, particularly the way Dimitri refused to let go of me, even in his sleep.

"You scared him yesterday. When he couldn't find you at the gym, he was worried - and I've never seen anyone move so fast as when you called Abe. It doesn't matter what anyone else says or does, don't ever doubt he loves you and only you, Rose."

I looked at Olena sheepishly. With the benefit of hindsight, I recognized perhaps I'd overreacted a little to the Raisa situation.

"She's right," Dimitri said, tightening his arms around me and opening a bleary eye to regard his Mama.

"You're awake!" Olena said giving her only son a smile.

"I am," he confirmed, unashamedly nuzzling my hair as we lay in bed talking with his Mama. I gave his side a small caress, returning his affection and silently letting him know I had started to forgive him.

"Babushka doesn't feel up for Church today, and Zoya is asleep. I thought you'd both be tired – are you ok staying behind and listening out for them while we attend the service?"

"That's fine, Mama. Thank you for understanding. Yesterday was a big day."

Olena nodded and blessed the two of us with a motherly smile.

"Is Abe coming over for lunch?" I checked. I hadn't thanked him for coming to get Yeva and me so quickly last night, and I wanted him to know how much I appreciated it.

"Yes. He and Pavel will be here at one as usual."

"Thank you," I murmured, giving Olena a grateful smile. She'd bent over backward to welcome me into the family, and it had worked. For the first time _ever_ , I felt like I had a home. Baia, Russia felt like home – and Dimitri's kin felt like mine too.

Olena returned my smile before backing out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. I spun in Dimitri's arms, lying on my side to face him.

"You hurt my feelings, you know," I admitted.

"I know," he said apologetically, remorse all over his face. "I wish I knew how to make it up to you."

"Hmm…" I pondered, looking at him reflectively. "Well – another of those nice long massages like the other day would be a good start…" I suggested, proffering the proverbial olive branch.

"I can do that," he agreed eagerly.

"And maybe some kisses. It's been too many hours since you kissed me," I grumbled, even as he was bringing his lips to mine tenderly.


	43. Chapter 43

"Hello kiz! How are you feeling?"

Abe arrived at the Belikov household right at 1 pm, scooping me up into a big hug.

"I was worried about you yesterday," he continued, giving my Russian God the evil eye.

Doh! It looks like the Belikovs weren't the only ones to hear me shouting at Dimitri last night! Abe led me over to one side of the living room, using the distraction of Pavel distributing the weekly gifts to get me alone.

"Rose if he doesn't treat you right, you let me know, ok?"

"We're fine, Baba," I said with a sigh.

"I mean it, Rose," Abe stressed, looking at me carefully. "You don't need to do anything you don't want to do. I heard you tell him you weren't in the mood for a threesome… Has he tried to coerce you into sexual acts you're not comfortable with?!"

I looked at my father in shock before erupting in laughter. Poor Abe was so embarrassed to ask, but I was equally as mortified.

"Baba it's nothing like that! He's never… I mean I've never…" I stopped as I was laughing too hard to continue. "Don't worry about that aspect of things. We've never had a threesome or anything like that. He's very respectful of me. I was just being dramatic to make a point."

Abe searched my face carefully.

"As long as you're sure…?"

"I'm sure. I got upset that a girl was flirting with him."

"Did he reciprocate?"

"No. But I still got upset."

"I can have him dealt with if he upsets you. Just say the word…"

"Baba! He's the man I love! I don't want him 'dealt with!'" I growled. "I might have overreacted a little bit. It's fine, he's fine, and we're fine."

"You'd tell me if you weren't happy?" he pressed.

"You'll be the first to know," I promised, rolling my eyes, and dragging him by the arm back to where the rest of the family stood.

We moved as a group into the living room where Babushka joined us, hobbling out of her bedroom. Abe presented her with a huge bunch of flowers, and an even more enormous cheese and a salami.

"You risked your life to help my little girl," he said emotionally. "It is a debt I can never repay."

"She's part of our family, too," Yeva said almost competitively. "But she needs to be armed. Paul?" she said beckoning the young man forward. "Get me the wooden box on my dressing table," she ordered.

Paul dutifully appeared with a simple timber box. She took it from him and passed it to me. I opened it, unsurprised to see a single silver stake lying in the plush purple velvet. The other of the pair was still upstairs in Dimitri's room.

"They're yours now. I don't like the idea of you out there without a weapon," Yeva said stroking my cheek affectionately. "They're freshly charmed. I have them redone every year."

"Thank you Babushka," I replied, understanding the significance of the gift and knowing better than to argue with her about it. "I'll carry them with pride."

She smiled and then shooed us all across to the table for lunch. Viktoria had returned to St. Basil's, so there was twelve of us. Olena said a long prayer, thanking God for keeping Yeva and me safe, then we dug in.

"So you'll need another molnija," Pavel remarked casually, referring to the Strigoi I'd killed last night.

"Shit! I forgot to call it into the Alchemists," I gasped, realizing I'd just left the dead Strigoi in the middle of the road.

"A group of Abe's Guardians went and dragged it off the edge of the road and called through the kill. The sun took care of the body at first light, but you'll need to submit a report."

I nodded. Sadly I'd had a bit of experience with them, now.

"You'll be going to St. Basil's for your trials soon enough, I suppose you can get it marked then," Abe suggested thoughtfully.

"Try not to get any more kills between now and then," Eddie said, only half joking.

"Trouble just seems to come looking for me," I laughed.

"Well if someone had been paying attention, you wouldn't have been out alone unarmed at night," Abe said giving Dimitri a pointed look.

"Baba," I warned, giving him a 'drop it' look.

Karolina hissed under her breath, and everyone looked uncomfortable. Dimitri returned Abe's look defiantly but said nothing.

"So Pavel – you went to St. Basil's, didn't you? How were your trials conducted?" Meredith quickly asked, steering the conversation back to safer topics.

For most of the meal, Pavel and Dimitri outlined the trials process, as they'd experienced it, Karolina and Sonya occasionally contributing information they knew from their friends' trials.

"You topped your year when you went through, didn't you?" Eddie asked Dimitri. "For the trials and the elimination fights?"

"That's right," Dimitri said in a no-nonsense voice. He wasn't gloating, but he wasn't making light of the feat either.

"Nice to see you can pay attention to _something_ when you really want to," Abe mocked snidely.

"Baba!" I snapped crossly. "That's enough!"

"No Roza," Dimitri said, his eyes flashing. "Your father has something to say, and I think he should say it."

Olena looked nervously between Abe and Dimitri, but my eyes were on Pavel. He didn't seem unduly alarmed, and gave me a small shrug as if to say 'let him say his piece.'

"Yes I do have something to say," Abe said in a furious but measured voice. "Your actions put my daughter in danger last night. If you hadn't been busy flirting, you'd have noticed my daughter leave, and she wouldn't have been attacked."

Dimitri was incensed.

"I was _not_ flirting!" he snapped.

"He's not my keeper," I said, absolutely seething.

Abe shook his head obstinately.

"His actions led to you being attacked!"

"No Baba, _my_ actions led to me being attacked. I got jealous of a woman flirting with Dimitri. He was just asking after her brother."

"Then why was he too busy to notice you leave?" Abe asked smugly.

"Because he was having a conversation. Just like you were."

Abe waved his hand dismissively.

"He's your partner. He's meant to look after you at all times. What sort of man disrespects his partner and then doesn't even notice when she walks away?"

"Abe! You don't know all the information. I told you – Dimitri and I have discussed what happened. You need to back off!"

"You want to criticize the way _I_ treat Roza?" Dimitri bellowed, his eyes shooting daggers at Abe. "This from the man who terrified his daughter when she went out of her way to organize a birthday party for him! You might not remember the look of fear on her face when you ripped that necklace from her neck, but I do! I'm not going to sit here and be lectured about how to treat Rose from a man who scared her as much as you did!"

The silence was absolute. Abe and Dimitri both glowered at each other before turning to look at me. Each expected me to take their part, and I didn't know what to say.

"Abe's right, Dimitri. You were out of line yesterday and I deserve better! I said I'm ok with it, but I'm still hurt and it's going to take me a while to move on! As for you, Abe - Dimitri is right, too. I thought you were going to hit me last weekend. It's not that I can't defend myself. I just never thought I'd have to from my father," I said sadly.

Both men looked at me, surprised I'd been so forthcoming. Neither of them was particularly happy.

"I think you both need to go outside and cool off," Olena announced in a surprisingly authoritative voice. "Abe? Paul will take you out the back and show you Mama's fruit trees," she directed. "They're about to flower and are attractive at this time of year. Dimka? You can go and sit out the front and reflect on how I expect you to behave toward guests in our home."

Dimitri immediately stood, nodding to his mother before stalking toward the front door. Abe also stood, as did Paul.

"Rose? Will you join your old man for a walk outside?" Abe asked winsomely.

"Maybe in a minute," I said decisively. "Olena's right. You need to spend a few minutes outside."

My father nodded a little shamefaced. I doubt anyone had sent him on a time out since he was aged in single digits, but he accepted his fate manfully. I waited until he and Dimitri had both departed before I questioned Olena.

"How did you know they'd be ok with that?" I gasped. I honestly hadn't expected either man to comply with her request.

"Because they were both behaving like children, so they knew to accept a childish punishment," she said in a motherly tone. But I could tell it had taken real backbone for her to say what she had to Abe.

"Abe needs to be told off more often," Pavel murmured, his lip twitching slightly.

No one else dared say anything, so we all ate in silence for a moment.

"I need to go to one of them," I said, putting my fork down on my plate. The problem is, I couldn't decide who to speak with first.

"Who are you angrier with?" Yeva asked, a knowing glint in her eye.

It was Dimitri. Abe reacted out of fear and surprise. Dimitri had basically forgotten me, choosing to give his attention elsewhere. I was still cross with both of them, but Abe had the better excuse.

"Excuse me, I'm going to join Abe and Paul out the back," I said, standing up.

"Good luck with that," Eddie said, wide-eyed.

"I need to talk to him about it."

I walked out the back door, spotting Abe and Paul half way down the lengthy garden. They didn't appear to be talking, and Paul was relieved when I approached them, announcing he could return to his meal inside.

"Dimitri was right. I did scare you," Abe said solemnly. "And I _am_ sorry."

"I know you are," I said, taking my time with my words. "I wish I could say it's forgotten, but it isn't. But I have forgiven you. I understand why you were so upset, and why you reacted how you did."

We walked over to a garden bench situated under a large tree.

"I spoke to Mom about the nazar," I said, watching my father carefully. "I finally got the whole story out of her about what happened."

"And?"

"She was three months pregnant with me when she came back to find you to let you know. When she got there, she discovered you had a new love interest, and she assumed you wouldn't be prepared to help her. She had no savings, so she took the money from your room so she could raise me until she could send me to an academy. She didn't take the nazar on purpose – she said she didn't even realize it was with the money until later."

Abe nodded, putting his hand into his pocket and pulling out the nazar. It was on a new silver chain but otherwise appeared identical to how it had looked last week when he'd wrenched it from my neck. He grasped my hand and dropped it into my palm.

"I'm glad I know it was my mother's," he said, his voice charged with emotion. "I regret what I did last weekend, and I want you to have it. Again."

I shook my head, passing it back to him.

"It was your mother's. It's the last thing you have of hers. You should keep it."

He shook his head, refusing to take it.

" _You_ are the last thing I have of her. You're her only grandchild. Her ultimate legacy. I need you to have this. You never got to meet my mother, but this is a link between you and her. Please, Rose?"

I shrugged, but I leaned forward and let him fasten the long necklace around my neck.

"I know you can't wear it all the time," he assured me. "But wear it on special occasions if you want."

"Ok Baba," I replied.

We sat in silence watching the blossoms on the trees sway gently in the fresh, cool breeze.

"I'm not happy with what you said to Dimitri."

Abe sighed, rubbing his hand over his face.

"You were out of line, and you know it!" I continued.

"It's a father's job to be protective," he defended.

"Yes. And there's a difference between being protective and being an asshole! Dimitri knows he fucked up – I don't need you to weigh in on it!"

"I just want to make sure my little girl is treated right," Abe weaseled, sounding less like a mob boss and more like a petulant school kid.

"You know, you and Dimitri are more similar than you realize. He feels the same way you do! You both want to keep me safe - but I'm a grown woman. I make my own decisions. If I need your help, I'll ask for it."

* * *

"I think your Mama might let you back inside now," I teased, plonking myself down beside Dimitri on the bench seat next to the front door a little later.

"I can't believe he spoke like that to me after what he did!" Dimitri growled, still furious with Abe.

I rolled my eyes.

"Well, he knows he overstepped," I reassured him. "And he apologized. Again."

"He gave you back the nazar?" Dimitri commented, gesturing to the glass bead suspended on the long silver chain around my neck.

"He did. I explained about Mom and he said he wanted me to have it."

"What did he say about Janine?"

"Not much. He was happy to find out the nazar was the one his mother had worn."

"I'm really sorry about yesterday," Dimitri said, grasping my hand.

I shrugged. "I don't like not being the center of your attention," I admitted.

"You're always the center of my attention, Roza," he promised, lifting my knuckles to his. "I thought we could maybe go for a hike together after lunch? Just you and me? There's somewhere I'd like to show you, and we could use some alone time together."

My heart skipped a beat, a slow easy smile spreading across my face. I was _always_ up for alone time with my Russian God.

"Come on. We should go back inside," I said, standing and tugging at Dimitri's hand. "And apologize to Abe. He's trying, ok?"

He stood and then leaned down to give me a sweet kiss.

"Let's do this," he grumbled, following me inside.

"Dimitri," Abe said standing up from his place at the table. "My lovely daughter reminded me she's a big girl who can fight her own battles," he said, holding his hand out to the young Dhampir. "I was politely told to butt out."

"I think I got the other half of that speech," Dimitri said taking Abe's hand firmly and shaking it.

"Now that's finished, let's have dessert" Yeva suggested with a smirk.

* * *

"This is beautiful," I murmured.

Dimitri and I had hiked for thirty minutes into the forest behind his house. He'd been looking around as we walked, eventually finding what he sought. It was the biggest tree I'd ever seen, towering above the other trees in the vicinity.

"It's a Scots Pine," Dimitri explained, finding the timber rungs long ago nailed into one side, helping me up the trunk until I could find hand and foot holds in the branches. "The view from up here is breathtaking."

I climbed ahead of him, heading further and further up into the enormous tree. All I could see were the trees on either side of me until I broke through the canopy line. Suddenly I could see over the treetops to the mountains in the distance.

"Keep climbing – there's a wide fork up ahead where it's safe to sit."

Looking up, I could see where he meant, and in a minute we were both seated in a sort of natural platform where the main trunk diverged into three smaller branches.

"I used to come here as a teenager," he explained. "It was my place to think."

"And what did you think about as a teenager?" I asked, looking at my man from under my lashes.

"I don't know," he chuckled. "But I'm sure it felt important at the time!"

He smiled and we sat in silence, basking underneath the colors of the sky.

"What's going to happen if Christian doesn't want me as his Guardian?" I asked suddenly. It was a thought that had been running through my brain ever since Dimitri had first proposed it.

"Then we're going to need to make some decisions," he replied seriously.

"I don't want to choose between you and Lissa," I said, feeling dispirited "but if it comes down to it, I'm not prepared to give you up."

"You'd pick me? Over her?"

I shrugged.

"You're the one I can't live without, Comrade," I sighed, appreciating the truth of my words. I'd managed to go for months, now, without Lissa and while I missed her, it wasn't the same as the way I'd miss Dimitri. If I had to imagine my life with only one of them regularly part of it, Dimitri was the only one I could see.

"I hope it doesn't come to that," he said, stroking my hand.

I sighed again. The closer we came to my trials and graduation the more it played on my mind. I'd always pictured it being Lissa and me. But that was before Christian and Dimitri came on the scene. While I'd never put Lissa in a place where she'd have to choose between her love or me, that's the position I might find myself in. And that's assuming Lissa would even be willing to accept a relationship between Dimitri and me. She had no idea her Guardian was in love with her best friend – and I wasn't entirely sure how she was going to take it when I finally came clean.

"You look worried, ангел. What are you thinking?"

"I'm wondering about how Lissa is going to be about us being together."

"She loves you, Roza. She'll want you to be happy," Dimitri said optimistically.

"Maybe. I'm not used to anyone being more important to me than her, and she won't be used to that, either. Since her family died, I'm all she has left," I tried to explain.

"You _were_ all she had," Dimitri replied reasonably. "She has Christian now, too. You can let go a little, Roza… It's time for _you_ to have someone else, too."

I kissed his hand. He was right. Lissa would be fine, and for the first time in my life, it was time to put myself first.


	44. Chapter 44

"What are they like?" I asked curiously as Dimitri and I walked to Oksana and Mark's place. The sun was just setting, but we were traveling further into town, not out, and Dimitri and I were both armed.

"I honestly don't know them that well," Dimitri confessed, holding my hand tightly in his. "They moved here five years ago, but I was away with Ivan most of the time. Then after Ivan died, I transferred to America. I can tell you she's Moroi, he's older and Dhampir. I think he was her Guardian, but they're married now and shadow-kissed."

"It's going to be weird meeting a bonded couple," I mused.

"You must have a lot of questions?"

"You have no idea, Comrade!"

The sun set just as we were walking up to their front path. Dimitri knocked and the door opened to reveal a Dhampir in his late forties or early fifties. He was obviously a Guardian, but there was something else about him, too. A softness that hinted he was also a family man.

"Dimitri! Good to see you again," he said, holding his hand out. "You must be Rose," he continued, leaning forward to give me a peck on one cheek and then the other. "Please come in. Oksana is so excited to meet you!"

He ushered us into a gorgeous cottage. It was small, but the whole space was perfect! Filled with handmade quilts and rustic furniture, the place screamed comfortable domesticity. Leading us through a small formal lounge, he brought us through to an open kitchen meals area and toward a woman in her late thirties.

"Dimitri," she greeted him with a smile, before holding out her arms and pulling me into a hug.

"Rose!" she smiled as if we were long lost friends and not perfect strangers.

"Oksana!" I replied, feeling an immediate affinity for the Moroi.

"It's the spirit," she explained, answering my unspoken question. "The shadow-kissed usually recognize Spirit in others."

I thought about Adrian and the connection I felt with him. It wasn't the romantic bond he hoped for, but there was certainly an understanding and closeness there that couldn't be explained in any other way.

"That makes sense," I replied, letting Oksana lead me over to the dining table, Dimitri following behind.

Oksana looked at Mark. I saw a shift of his features and realized they were talking in their heads.

"Your bond works both ways!" I gasped.

"Yours doesn't?" Mark asked in surprise.

"No. I can 'hear' Lissa, but she can't hear me."

"Well it did take us a while," Oksana comforted me, before laughing. "Well you might have a point," she added. Mark also chortled.

Dimitri was the only one in the room not clued in.

"I was thinking that it was bad enough me seeing Lissa's love life without her seeing ours," I explained to him.

"So you can read minds?" I asked Oksana, understanding why she was responding to my thoughts.

"Yes and no. If a thought is 'loud' enough, I can hear it unsought. If I want to consciously seek out thoughts, I have to concentrate. You _really_ don't want your bond mate to know about your relationship with Dimitri?"

I sighed, explaining the situation between Dimitri and myself, including the age difference and the fact that he was still technically a teacher or mentor to me and could get in trouble. I'm not sure why, but I was not concerned about spelling out my concerns to Oksana. It's like I instinctively knew she could be trusted.

"Yes – we would never betray your secrets," Oksana replied absently as she served the meal of pasta with meat and mushrooms.

We started in on our heaped plates, making general chit chat for a little while.

"So tell me about your bond mate," Mark asked. He was quieter than Oksana, but he seemed curious about the bond Lissa and I shared.

It was hard to know what to say, so I started at the beginning - explaining how Lissa and I had been best friends since kindergarten, and how she saved me after the crash that killed her parents and brother. I also told them about taking Lissa on the run, Victor, and then more recently where we'd been separated.

"It must be difficult having a bond mate who is not your life partner," Mark mused.

"How so?"

"I mean it's easy for me with Oksana. She is my wife, my charge, and my bond mate. I can put her first in every situation without guilt. You could end up with a charge, a partner and a bond mate as three different people."

I'd never thought of it in quite that way, but as soon as he said it, I could appreciate the dilemma. If I guarded anyone other than Lissa, I'd be pulled by love, friendship and obligation in three different directions. It was bad enough I'd already had to decide between Dimitri and Lissa!

Dimitri draped a long arm around me, sensing my mental mood plummeting.

"We'll make it work, ангел," he promised, dropping a kiss onto my temple.

"It would be so much easier for you if you loved someone less… encumbered," I said apologetically.

Dimitri's mouth twitched. It was a long word for me!

"But a lot less fun," he teased me.

After that, Oksana wanted to hear about what Lissa could do with Spirit. I told her about the healing and compulsion, and about Adrian's ability to dream-walk.

"No fair! I've _never_ been able to get the hang of that!" Oksana said with a pretty pout, referring to dream walking.

"It's pretty cool," I said with a laugh. "Although it can be annoying when you just want to sleep."

I could feel Dimitri stiffen beside me.

"He hasn't done it in ages," I comforted immediately, recognizing the direction of his thoughts.

Oksana explained that her talents were mostly mind reading, compulsion, some healing and making spirit charms. She explained charms could help mitigate the effects of spirit, essentially lessening the effect of darkness on my mind and body.

Mark tensed when she mentioned the darkness, as did I.

"Your bond mate should make these for you regularly. They take very little Spirit to produce, and the benefit is worth it in terms of protecting you."

"How often do you make one for Mark?" I asked.

"Whenever he needs one," she said simply.

Mark looked at me with a smile.

"Because we have a two-way bond, Oksana can see when darkness is troubling me, and she'll charm my wedding band again."

My eyes dropped to his ring finger - on his right hand as per Russian custom - to see a large, thick silver band he was toying with.

"If she's not using a lot of Spirit, every three or four months is enough. If she does a big healing or similar, then she'll top it up."

"And Lissa will be able to do this to help me?" I asked optimistically.

"It's easy to do," Oksana assured me. "If she has trouble getting the hang of it, I can talk her through it. But you'll need to tell her when you need one."

I sighed. Yet another thing tying me to Lissa. It's not that I resented it – I loved Lissa and she was more than my best friend, she was my sister – I just hated feeling that I was letting her down by loving Dimitri.

* * *

Dimitri, Eddie, Meredith and I walked into the Belikov house on Wednesday night, hot and tired after our usual run home from the gym, only to find Sonya and Karolina entertaining a visitor. Raisa Asimov!

Dimitri's eyes flicked to mine as soon as we walked in to see her sitting at the kitchen table with a coffee. He might have been unaware of her flirting at the fights on Saturday, but he'd had four days of groveling since then, so he was immediately on guard.

"Meredith? You want first shower or second?" Eddie asked, filling the silence.

Sonya looked up smiling sweetly.

"Meredith? You can use the bathroom Karolina and I share upstairs if you want? Then Eddie can use the one down here. Rose and Dimitri shower together anyway, so they can use their usual one upstairs."

"Why do you shower with Auntie Rose, Uncle Dimka?" Paul asked innocently.

Sonya smirked while Karolina shot my Russian love a warning look. Apparently, today was _not_ the day for the birds and the bees!

"Um… we're saving water for the environment," he replied unconvincingly.

However Paul seemed pleased enough with that as an answer, while Sonya was sniggering and Eddie was outright laughing.

"Never took you two as environmentalists," he chortled when Karolina sent Paul out the back to help Yeva in the garden.

"We all need to play our part," I said sweetly, grabbing Dimitri's hand, nodding to Sonya, Karolina, and Raisa and leading my man upstairs. "Be back in a tick," I called out over my shoulder.

"Not if it's one of your _usual_ showers, you won't!" Sonya retorted with a laugh.

While I wouldn't have been adverse to a little shower action, Dimitri was mortified by his sister's jokes about our bathroom activities so we were quickly done. Back in our bedroom, I asked whether we could just hang out up here, but Dimitri insisted it would be rude and we should at least put in an appearance downstairs.

"Why's she here anyway?" I asked.

"She was in Sonya's year at school. I guess she's visiting her."

I smiled sweetly, knowing there was no way in hell Raisa was here to visit her old school friend!

We changed into home clothes, me choosing a pair of skinny jeans and a top with a deep v-neck that showed off my cleavage nicely. Then we walked back downstairs, surprised to find we'd beaten both Eddie and Meredith back.

"You want a drink, babe?" I asked Dimitri as he flopped onto a sofa in the adjoining living room with one of his ubiquitous westerns.

"I'm good," he said, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me on top of him for a quick kiss. One thing led to another, and I was giggling as I backed away from him, waggling my finger reprovingly. I was gratified to see Raisa notice our affection, and that Dimitri had instigated it.

"Hi Rose," she greeted as I wandered into the adjoining kitchen, preparing a hot chocolate for myself.

"Hi Raisa," I said pleasantly. Dimitri had made it crystal clear he was with me. I didn't need to be a bitch. In fact, it would be so much better if I wasn't! Nursing my cup, I joined Karo, Sonya, and Raisa at the table.

"Raisa and I were at St. Basil's together," Sonya said pleasantly, and I immediately picked up on the tension in her voice.

"She was just telling us all about her wonderful allocation. And she's made three kills since she graduated," Karolina enthused. Again the words were polite enough; it was the tone that was off.

"Oh it's not _that_ glamorous," Raisa smiled. "It's not like I kill Strigoi for fun…"

She was speaking loudly, and I had to wonder if it were to attract Dimitri's attention.

"No of course not," I assured her, nodding seriously.

For the next five minutes, I got a blow-by-blow account of her three kills.

"You're going to be a Guardian - you'll discover all this," she said condescendingly.

I smiled sweetly. I'd had my hair in a low bun the day we'd met. She didn't know I was marked!

"Rose has already killed Strigoi. Actually, she protected the town from one on Saturday night on her way home after the fight," Karolina said.

"Your first?" Raisa asked with a forced smile.

"Hardly!" Sonya scoffed. "This will be her tenth molnija and she has a zvezda, too."

"You've fought in battle?" Raisa asked with raised eyebrows. The zvezda was an uncommon mark, and it was an honor to bear one.

"The battle of St. Vlad's," I said sipping my hot chocolate.

Nothing more was said, so I deftly changed the topic.

"You had a call today?" I asked Sonya leadingly.

She sighed, but there was a pretty smile on her face.

"He'll call at eight tonight," she replied.

"Well I figured there was a man on the scene," Raisa joked, dropping her eyes to Sonya's just-there baby bump.

I could see shame and uncertainty flicker in Sonya's eyes, and suddenly I hated the bleached blonde bitch sitting at Olena's kitchen table.

"You know him. Sonya and Kirill are together," Karolina jumped in.

"Kirill from Dimitri's year?" Raisa asked.

"That's right," I replied before Sonya had a chance. "He owns a chain of electronics stores in Omsk. Sonya's here while he's having their new unit renovated. You should see it! He's having the place gutted," I described enthusiastically. "Brand new kitchen, bathroom… new everything. And the latest gadget of every sort imaginable!"

"He wants everything perfect before the baby arrives," Sonya said with a loving smile.

"You should _see_ the place! It's huge and is going to look amazing!"

"Are you talking about Kirill and Sonya's new place?" Eddie asked, coming to sit beside me at the table.

"Yes. Just telling Sonya's friend Raisa about it."

"It's going to be something else," Eddie confirmed. "Sonya's done a great job choosing the fixtures for it, and Kirill wants nothing but the best for his girl!"

* * *

"I can't believe she asked Sonya who fathered her baby!" Olena growled indignantly, listening as the young people recounted Raisa's ill-fated visit.

"Good on you for telling her the question was in poor taste," Dimitri commented to Eddie, giving the younger Dhampir a respectful nod.

"At least she left not long after that," I said gleefully, shooting my Russian God a satisfied glance. Raisa had only been there to see Dimitri. Once she knew he and I were an item, she'd become quite rude to Sonya who she'd ostensibly come to visit.

"So when is Kirill due back?" Meredith asked Sonya, noticing she was uncomfortable with all the talk about her baby's biological father.

"This time next week. He wants my opinion on more about the flat," she explained. "A fortnight after that, he'd like Mama, Babushka and I to travel to Omsk for the day to direct the last of the work."

"I thought I could go too," Eddie suggested. "If I can be of assistance, and if it's ok with you Dimitri?" he quickly added.

Sonya nodded eagerly, and my man considered it for a moment.

"You've all been working hard. It's a week or so before we go to St. Basil's, but a day off won't hurt. Did you want to go too, Meredith?"

"I'll see how I feel closer to the time, but a day at home with a book sounds pretty good," she laughed.

"Did you want to go to Omsk ?" I asked my man.

"No. If we're all going to take the day off, I want to take you to a lake near here. We used to go there when I was a child."

He didn't say any more, but I could tell from his eyes this was a special place for Dimitri, so I smiled and nodded, letting him know I understood and that there was nowhere else I'd rather be.

* * *

I was lying in bed with Dimitri, about to go to sleep, when I was sucked into Lissa's head. I got her strong feelings from time to time, and I always had a general sense of her wellbeing, but this was the first time since I'd come to Russia I'd been pulled into her mind.

She was in the bathroom and I could see her wetbag in front of her, complete with the razor blades.

" _No, Lissa, no!"_ I mentally begged.

Where the _hell_ had this come from?! She'd been calm! Happy! How did it turn from that to her locking herself in the bathroom unbeknownst to Christian or Tasha?!

I braced myself, ready to pull out of her head to call Christian or Tasha when I stopped. Lissa's emotions were all over the shop, but she hadn't reached for the razor; she'd pulled a long white and pink stick out of her beauty kit.

A test. A _pregnancy_ test!

I mentally sighed, not entirely sure if it were out of relief or fear. All I knew is my sister, and bond mate, was scared out of her mind because she thought she might be pregnant.

Now I knew the problem, I mentally rummaged through her consciousness. She was four days late. Apparently she and Sparky had been using condoms, but there'd been a slip up a few weeks back. She'd thought nothing of it at the time as she believed she was out of her fertile period – and Moroi were notoriously problematic when it came to reproducing – so she had not been too concerned. But now she was late, and she was freaking out.

" _It will be ok,"_ I said in my head, feeling like the ultimate voyeur as I read the test instructions through Lissa's eyes, witnessing as she recapped the test and set a one-hundred and twenty-second stopwatch on her phone.

Completely submerged in her thoughts, now, I knew Christian and Tasha were downstairs watching a movie, and Lissa had slipped upstairs to test while they were none the wiser. It was 8.30 pm here, which meant it was 10.30am there. We were both about to go to bed, but Dimitri and I were in bed early as we'd be up at the crack of dawn to train.

 _Please please please please_ , I heard through Lissa's mind. _I want a baby –_ _ **his**_ _baby. Just not yet!_

My heart broke for her. Lissa was so scared and felt so alone. She loved Christian with all her heart, but she wasn't ready to be a mother yet, and she was worried about how Christian would react if she were pregnant.

Thankfully two minutes came around before she had a chance to stress about that prospect any further. I could feel her holding her breath as her phone pipped and she turned the test over to reveal the test panel.

Negative.

 _Oh, thank God!_ I heard through her inner dialogue. And then she lost it, breaking down in tears. While it had been her biggest fear, she'd also been a little hopeful. A part of her, even if it were small, had been excited at the idea of bearing Christian's child. And now she was feeling completely lost.

"Oh, thank God!" I murmured, dragging myself out of her mind.

I sat up in bed, switching on the bedside light beside me. Dimitri turned to face me. He'd still been up finishing off his most recent Western.

"Roza? What's wrong? You look upset?" he asked, placing his book facedown on the quilt, staring at me in consternation.

"I need to ring Lissa. _Now!"_ I said, reaching for my phone and dialing.

"What's wrong?" Dimitri asked in alarm.

I looked at him and waved my hand in a 'don't worry' gesture. The phone rang on the other side of the globe, and Lissa picked it up.

"It's ok. I got sucked in, and I saw it all. Tell me everything," I soothed, siphoning every bit of darkness out of my sister as I listened to her stilted voice and hiccups as she outlined all her hopes, worries and fears.

"I'm here, Liss," I comforted her, doing the same thing I'd done for as long as I could remember. "I'll always be here. It's going to be ok."


	45. Chapter 45

"You've been calling Lissa a lot," Dimitri commented a week later after dinner. Kirill was back in Baia for the night, and had come over for dinner and to spend the evening with Sonya. The two of them were downstairs talking tap and light fittings with the ever-knowledgeable Eddie, so I'd excused myself to go upstairs to ring Liss.

"I just feel like talking to her," I said evasively, not meeting Dimitri's eye before heading upstairs.

I hadn't told him about Lissa's pregnancy scare, and her resulting scattered emotions. Since it had been a false alarm, it seemed silly to mention it. Besides which, Lissa was my best friend, and I didn't think she'd appreciate anyone else knowing how much part of her had wanted to be pregnant with Christian's baby.

"Have you spoken to him about it?" I asked after she'd accepted my call and the obligatory greetings were made.

She sighed and then huffed.

"No. And I don't think I'm going to. I don't think he's ready for marriage and kids, and me telling him I'm thinking about them will only freak him out."

"You won't know how he feels if you don't discuss it," I argued reasonably. "Surely you're better off at least raising the idea of marriage and children with him?"

I disagreed with Lissa on this issue. I thought Christian was all for sealing the deal, and probably wanted to do so sooner than later. Moroi were quite traditional, and the first couple of summers after graduation tended to be peppered with Moroi engagement announcements and then weddings. As the last of her line, people would be expecting Lissa to marry sooner rather than later, and get busy with the task of producing Dragomir heirs. But there was no point arguing - her mind was made up, and I knew while she liked the idea of marrying Christian, she was also pretty sold on going to Lehigh.

"So have you decided what you're going to wear to the graduation dance?" I asked, changing the subject. Lissa and Christian's graduation was in two weeks time, and she'd been struggling to find the right dress to wear to the ball held the evening of graduation.

"Yes! Tasha and I went out, and I got the _perfect_ gown. Tasha spilled that Christian is going to give me an emerald necklace of his mother's for graduation, so I should wear something green. We found the most amazing dress!" she enthused. "Look at it now and let me know what you think!"

I slipped into her head, seeing her lock the door to the room and pull a garment bag out of the closet. She unzipped it to reveal a jade green floor length dress. The top part had cap sleeves, was lacey and partially transparent, while the bottom of the dress draped in soft folds.

I pulled myself back out.

"It's _beautiful_ Liss. You're going to look stunning!"

"Thanks! I just wish you could be here for it," she sighed.

I sighed too. Attending the graduation dance together had been one of our dreams, but it wasn't to be.

"Hey, I met some interesting people the other day… You know how the bonded couple here? She's a Spirit user, and he's her Guardian, bond mate, and husband?"

"Yes?" Lissa sounded excited.

"Well… I had dinner over there the other night. I learned loads from them which I'll tell you about when I get back – but Oksana told me it's possible for you to charm objects for me to wear which can help with the darkness! She said it doesn't take a lot of spirit, and it's worth it in terms of lessening the effects on me."

"Oh! Is it hard to do?"

"She said it was easy, but she could talk you through it if you needed help."

"That would be good. But you probably don't need any at the moment. You haven't been taking any darkness, have you?" Lissa asked innocently.

My silence was answer enough.

"How often?" Lissa wailed, realizing what I was saying by not telling her.

"A couple of times a week," I said guiltily.

"But I've been trying hard not to use much magic…" Lissa said, her voice also sounding guilty.

"I think some just happens anyway. It's no big deal – actually it helped me the other night in a fight with a Strigoi."

"A fight with a _what!?"_ Lissa shrieked. Oops. I forgot I hadn't told her about that yet!

So I quickly filled her in about the Strigoi I'd killed a week and a half ago, of course omitting the details about how my jealousy was the reason I was out after dark on my own, and that I would probably be dead had it not been for Yeva's timely intervention.

"So that's ten molnija now?" she checked.

I smiled. I didn't think Lissa would be noting my kills, and I said as much.

"Of _course_ I know how many Strigoi you've killed," she huffed, genuinely annoyed. "Every time you fight I know there's a chance you could lose. I know every mark you've earned and how you've earned it."

And that made me feel like an asshole. Here she was championing me, and following my kills, yet I couldn't even tell her the truth about Dimitri and where my heart lay.

"I gotta go, Liss," I managed to eke out, getting off the phone before my guilty conscience completely overwhelmed me.

Lying in the center of the bed I shared with my love, tears were trickling down my face. I wanted to tell Lissa about Dimitri and me so badly, but I needed to do it face to face. It was only three and a bit weeks, now, until I'd graduate. Dimitri and I hadn't discussed heading home, but we'd do so once the elimination fights were over. And the first thing I'd be doing, straight after flying in, was telling Lissa.

The door to our room opened, and I quickly wiped the tears from my face as I looked into the worried chocolate brown eyes of my love.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

I nodded and sighed.

"It's just hard being away from her," I said, not wanting to tell him about the crushing guilt I felt for choosing him over her. It was the right decision, and absolutely what I needed to do. But I still felt guilty as hell about it.

Dimitri sighed, an odd look flickering on his face before he sat beside me on the bed.

"Do you want to come downstairs? Sonya and Kirill have almost completed their bathroom selections, and she wants to show everyone…"

I smiled. I was so happy for Sonya. Kirill had made his interest crystal clear, and everyone knew it was just a matter of time before he proposed. In fact, Dimitri and I had already discussed what we should give them as an engagement gift. With the new flat and a baby on the way, we'd decided on something 'houseish' but had not progressed beyond that. But if what Kirill had said to Dimitri was any indication, we only had a week or two to get ourselves organized!

I took Dimitri's hand, letting him pull me up from the bed. He pulled me against him, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me hard against his reassuring bulk.

"I love you. You know that right?" he asked, his voice hitching.

I looked at him in confusion. Of course I knew he loved me. Of the many things in a confusing and changing landscape, his love was my lynchpin; my whole world had come to rely on and revolve around the love we shared.

"Of course I know that," I soothed, stroking the side of his cheek before taking his face between my hands, gently guiding him down to my lips. "Just like I love you!"

I kissed him sweetly and then pulled back, pulling him by the hand toward the door.

"I think later tonight I might need to remind you how _much_ I love you,"I hinted suggestively, raising my eyebrows at my man.

He raised an eyebrow in a way that simultaneously annoyed yet thrilled me.

"We don't have to be long downstairs," he agreed. "Just hang out for half an hour and then make our excuses…"

"That sounds _perfect,"_ I said, flashing him my man-eater grin.

* * *

I woke up overheating. Not surprising since a six foot, seven-inch man was wound around me. His arms were clasped around my waist, and I was weighted down with one of his long legs across my hips. I could not have escaped, even had I wanted to.

Something was wrong. Dimitri was always a generous lover, but last night had been something else! I'd climaxed several times thanks to his tongue and fingers, and when he'd finally made love to me, he'd taken his time, building me up to an orgasm so intense I'd honestly nearly blacked out from pure pleasure! And when he'd finally let himself cum, he'd been moaning my name – whispering that I was everything to him and that he'd never stop loving me.

Stroking my man's dark strands, I looked at Dimitri's face. He looked troubled, a frown on his full lips. I checked the clock, and there was still half an hour before we needed to get up and start getting ready for the day of training. Plenty of time to get to the bottom of what was bothering him.

Wriggling in Dimitri's arms, I pushed him onto his back, straddling him and lying on top of him, my head above his heart. We slept naked, so I cherished the feeling of his skin against mine.

"Wake up, Comrade," I crooned, leaning up and kissing the underside of his jaw.

"You're insatiable," he groaned, his lips quirking in a lopsided grin.

"Guardian Belikov, you have a one-track mind," I chastised, wiggling my hips against his to take any sting out of my words.

"You're not helping with those thoughts," he grumbled, rolling us over, so I was spooned against his chest.

We lay in comfortable silence for a minute. I almost let it go, but then I remembered the look on my man's face last night. A desperation that somehow seemed linked to the passion and intensity with which he'd made love to me. Something was wrong, and I aimed to find out what it was.

"So are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" I asked as I lazily drew patterns on his upper thigh with my fingertips.

"Nothing's bothering me," Dimitri replied far too quickly.

Great. So we were going to play this the hard way.

"Uhha," I said in a voice filled with disbelief and skepticism. "Let's try that again, and this time you can answer me honestly," I said sweetly. "What's wrong, Dimitri?"

He knew I meant business when I used his first name. I spun in his arms, so we were lying on our sides facing each other.

"It's nothing," he said, his eyes not meeting mine.

"Comrade…?" I warned.

"I'm worried you've changed your mind," he hissed suddenly. "I'm worried that when it comes down to it, you're going to choose Lissa."

I looked at him speechless. He really meant it. My poor loving man had been carrying around this fear for God knows how long.

"What makes you think that?" I asked, running my fingers soothingly over his front, toying with the manly hair on his chest.

"You've been on the phone to her every day, but keep saying nothing's wrong. And then last night you were crying after you spoke with her, and I can't help but think it's because you regret deciding to put us first."

"No…" I said, leaning in and kissing his chest. "It's not that. Not that at all," I reassured him. "If anything, it's the reverse!"

Dimitri looked at me curiously, waiting for me to explain.

"The decision's made. It's you. Us. I guess I just feel guilty about not choosing her."

"So you're calling her every night because you're guilty?"

"No. There _is_ something going on with her. She's fine," I quickly added before he had a chance to worry about it. "She just needs to talk some things through. I want to be there for her."

"I'd understand if you do choose her," he said, sounding torn.

I shook my head.

"No. I've thought about it, and I think me guarding Christian is the best option. When I tell her about us, I'm also going to tell her I'd like to guard Sparky. It means she can be just my best friend. I know I'd always planned to guard her, but this way is better."

Relief washed over my Russian God's face. It was as though the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

"So I've been worried about nothing?" he asked me, embarrassed.

"Yes," I said with a little smile. "But if you being insecure results in more nights like last night, maybe I can find something else for you to worry about," I teased, listening to his soft growl before I kissed him.

* * *

"We should probably talk about graduation and all that," I said the next evening at the dinner table. I hadn't given it much thought, but Lissa's talk about dresses had reminded me my own graduation was fast approaching.

"Actually I rang Guardian Sokolov about that earlier today," Dimitri surprised me by announcing. "Your trials are scheduled for the last day, which is Friday in three weeks time. Graduation is on Saturday, the Graduation Ball on Saturday night, and the elimination fights will run on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the following week. I've spoken with Abe, and I thought us four could catch the train to St. Basil's on Thursday and just settle in? The trials are closed, so there's no point anyone else coming up before then. Abe said he'd drive up Saturday for Graduation and stay for the elimination fights but if anyone wants to catch a lift up, he can send the van back Saturday night with some of his Guardians."

Olena looked at Yeva.

"I'd like to go up for graduation," she said. "Mama? Would you like to come, too?"

"Of course I'm going," she snapped a little irritably. "Karolina you should come as well. Viktoria can give Paul a tour, so he knows what to expect when he starts there."

Karolina nodded, hearing the wisdom in Yeva's words.

"Sonya – did you want to come?" Dimitri checked.

"Um. Depending on what's happening with Kirill, yes I'd like to be there."

"Ok. So six with Abe and his Guardians on the way up. Term ends on Friday, but Viktoria would benefit from seeing the elimination fights, so she can come back with us after the fights."

"We should also book flights back to Court," I said sadly. "Meredith, Eddie and I have the allocations ceremony we need to attend."

I looked at my fellow Novices somberly. To say we were all a little freaked out about our first allocations was the understatement of the century. We were only halfway through our visit to Russia, yet we were already talking about leaving.

"I'm sorry, Olena," I said when I noticed her sad look.

"Don't be," she said brightly. "It's a joy having the house full, and my boy home. I wouldn't have seen him if it weren't for you. I know you have to return home eventually."

She came around the table and gave me a long hug.

"So what are you going to wear to the Graduation Ball?" Karolina asked in excitement.

I shrugged and looked at Meredith who also shrugged.

"I wasn't sure if they had one," I said lamely.

"Of course they have one, Roza," Dimitri said with a loaded look. I didn't know what he was trying to say, but his voice was heavy with a subtext.

"Well if there's a dance, I'm not going stag… Meredith? You want to come with me, or do I have to ask Belikov's little sister?" Eddie laughed.

"Yeah alright, we can go together" Meredith replied easily. Suddenly I understood Dimitri's look. I suppose as the one graduating, I had to be the one to do the asking.

I wouldn't know anyone there. Not really. Chelsea, Ryan, and a couple of other St. Vladimir's students were graduating from St. Basil's, and other than that it was only Artyom and Elizaveta.

"Maybe I should call Artyom and see if he'd like to escort me to the ball," I teased, looking at Eddie and Meredith wickedly.

"You wouldn't!" Dimitri growled.

"No, I wouldn't," I giggled. "Guardian Belikov? Would you like to escort me to my Graduation Ball?"

"Of course I will, ангел," he smiled, leaning down and giving me a soft tender kiss.

"Get a room, you two!" Sonya said, but there was only laughter behind her words.

"So I guess we need to find dresses?" I said to Meredith in alarm. "I can't imagine there's much in Baia…?"

"I'll take you both to see Miroslava tomorrow," Yeva announced haughtily, declaring the matter closed.

"Miroslava?" I asked, looking at Karolina and Sonya tentatively. The last thing I wanted was to turn up to the graduation dance in a dress thrown together by someone's cousin.

"Miroslava is a Dhampir, but she lived for over thirty years in Moscow as the principal costume maker for the Bolshoi Ballet. What that woman can't do with fabric isn't worth doing," Karolina reassured me. "You can go in there with your own ideas, but if you want something truly magical let her take your measurements and come up with something."

"I don't want to look like a ballerina," I said, unsure about this plan.

"You won't," Karo promised. "Her dresses are works of art. She can hide any figure flaw, and her dresses are so beautiful. Ask to see her book when you go in. If you have any doubts after that, I'll drive you to Omsk and back to dress shop myself!"

Sonya was nodding reassuringly.

"She's cranky, and expect to be stabbed by her dressmaker's pins, especially you Rose, but if you want to be the best-dressed girls at the ball, see Miroslava!"

"Is that ok, Comrade? Can Meredith and I have tomorrow afternoon off to go see her."

"Of course you can," he replied, giving me a sweet kiss on the nose, before nodding to Meredith. "Eddie and I want to take the best-dressed girls to the ball," he laughed. "I can't wait to walk in with you by my side."


	46. Chapter 46

Whatever I'd been expecting at Miroslava's, what I found was nothing like it. After our conversation last night, Meredith, Sonya, Karolina and I had spent the evening online looking up potential dresses for inspiration. Meredith had picked a quite simple design that she thought would suit her. But try as I might, I couldn't find anything that appealed. So in the end, I'd decided I'd throw myself on Miroslava's mercy and talent.

Abe hadn't missed the excited chatter at morning training, and once he divined the reason for our enthusiasm, he'd immediately offered to bankroll the exercise. Meredith politely declined, explaining her family had given her some money to buy herself a gown.

"See Rose? It's a tradition – families paying for their daughter's graduation dress. You let Miroslava know you can have whatever you want. I'm good for it," Abe grinned winsomely.

I sighed and nodded, secretly relieved. I had next to no money – certainly not enough to buy any dress I'd want to be seen in!

After lunch, Meredith and I stayed at home, quickly showering and putting on modest undergarments. Karolina and Sonya had warned us we'd be standing around in our bras and panties, and getting measured in every conceivable region, so we were best off wearing something comfortable. Sonya had also whispered that Miroslava took shit from no one, and at the first sign of feistiness, I'd feel the prick of her dressmaker's pins.

"Are you sure she's worth it?" I asked.

"Wait 'til you see her work," Sonya assured me.

After lunch Yeva led a compliant Meredith and me into a wide, bright workshop above a bakery not far from the gym downtown. The workshop took up the entire top floor. As well as half a dozen large worktables, and several sewing machines and overlockers, the walls were lined with box after box filled with every imaginable bolt of fabric - silks, satins, suedes, and synthetics in every conceivable weight and color.

"Yeva," the woman greeted, nodding respectfully.

"Miroslava. Can I present my granddaughter Rose and her friend Meredith."

"Pleased to meet you," Meredith said politely, stepping forward and nodding when she noticed the woman did not extend her hand.

"Yes, thanks for fitting us in at such short notice," I added.

The woman clucked her tongue.

"Your grandmother booked the two of you in weeks ago," she corrected, picking me as Rose without being told. Were all the old women around here like Yeva?

Dimitri's grandmother chuckled, and not for the first time I wondered whether mind-reading was amongst her repertoire of creepy skills!

"Let's see what we're working with. Clothes off and stand there," Miroslava ordered, pointing to two circular raised plinths side by side in the center of her workshop. Picking up a cigarette burning in a nearby ashtray, she stood to one side, watching Meredith and I appraisingly as we modeled in our underwear.

Ignoring me completely, she went over to Meredith, directing her how to stand while using a fabric tape measure to measure her everywhere, scratching down her observations onto a small notepad. It was chilly in the workshop, but I dared not shiver, so I kept silent, giving Meredith encouraging looks.

"You have an idea, yes?" Miroslava finally asked, gesturing to a printout Meredith had left on one of the worktables beside her folded clothing. Gesturing for her to stay where she was, Miroslava walked over to look at the design.

"It will make you look short, and the color is not good for you," she declared. "In a dress like that, you won't shine."

Looking around her workshop, she spotted a box of fabric in one corner. Walking decidedly toward it, she rummaged around until she found what she was after – a sapphire blue satin.

"This is the color you should wear," she announced, unraveling the fabric and draping it across Meredith's front.

Yeva and I looked at Meredith admiringly. The blue made her skin look impossibly milky and white, emphasizing the feminine blush on her cheeks.

"Satin and low v-neck up the top to draw attention to your buds," she said, gesturing in the vicinity of Meredith's chest. "Georgette overlay on the bottom to distract from your hips and thighs," she continued in her deeply accented voice.

As soon as she said it, I could see Miroslava's point. Now she was in her underwear, I could see Meredith _was_ a bit pear-shaped. Walking to another bin of cloth, the Russian dressmaker selected a matching blue of drapey textile. She got Meredith to hold the second material around her waist, nodding in satisfaction. The shiny fabric at the top drew the eye upward while the piece at the bottom concealed.

"You'll need a glittery belt," Miroslava added, walking over to a cabinet in one corner, pulling out a crystal-beaded patch, holding it up to admire the fabrics and belt together. Nodding in satisfaction, she took the materials from Meredith and placed them on a worktable. Sketching over the top of Meredith's design, she modified the original idea, showing it to Meredith.

"Ready in ten days," she said bluntly, naming a figure in rubles that sounded very reasonable, particularly given it was a custom-made gown.

Meredith nodded, thanking her profusely, stepping down from the dais and quickly redressing herself in her streetwear.

"Now. Roza," the old woman said to herself, circling where I stood waiting in my underwear. "Always the center of attention, no matter what you wear," she muttered in a way that didn't sound entirely complimentary.

"You'll want to wear red, but you'll look better in beaded bronze," she continued to herself. She was right. I _did_ like wearing red.

"You're the expert," I said to her, not sure whether she was addressing me or not. "I'll wear whatever you suggest."

She nodded, looking pleased for the first time since we arrived.

"Many people will have their eyes on you," she predicted. "I don't want you to look like a girl playing dressups in her mother's clothing, or a girl at her first dance. Your dress will be less revealing than you would expect, but you'll look elegant and classy."

Less revealing and classy? Why did I have visions of me in a bejeweled hessian sack?! These thoughts only increased in magnitude when Miroslava triumphantly produced a bolt of delicate sheer fabric that could only be called deep beige.

"Are you sure?" I asked dubiously, eyeing off Meredith's bright blue fabrics enviously. Meredith shot me a reassuring look, but I could tell even she thought my dress was going to look dull.

"Who's the expert here?" Miroslava asked sharply, reminding me of my earlier words.

"Fine," I grumbled, reassuring myself it was just one night, and I could always beg Abe to find me something else if the result was not pleasing.

"It's going to be expensive. That fabric is silk, and the beading will all have to be hand done - the fabric is too delicate to use the machine."

Pulling out her notepad, she sketched up a simple design. With cap sleeves and a boat neck, it was very plain. Boring, in my opinion.

"You emphasize your buds too much," she commented when she saw me eyeing the front of the design in disappointment. "More seemly to show your back," she declared, pointing to the back view of the pattern where she had left an unadorned section to emphasize my shoulder blades and upper back. At least I'd be able to show off _some_ skin!

She named a figure almost five times that she'd quoted Meredith. I was so disappointed in the color and the design, I nearly said thanks but no thanks, however, Yeva interrupted accepting Miroslava's quote, telling her to send her account to Abe.

My fitting now apparently at an end, I quickly put on my clothes and went to stand next to Meredith where she was admiring the makings of her gown with excitement. I felt ripped off and cheated as I stood beside her, but I didn't want to ruin this for Meredith or earn Yeva's displeasure, so I plastered a smile on my face and listened to the old women talk. Although since it was in Russian, I didn't understand any of it.

"I'm sure it will look good," Meredith said supportively as we climbed down the stairs after we'd been dismissed.

"It's beige!" I hissed back.

"I wouldn't call it beige. It was more of a light brown," Meredith replied.

" _That's not helping,"_ I groaned.

I all but stomped down the road toward the gym. The original plan had been to go home after our fittings, but I was in a feral mood so had announced I would be going for a workout. I pushed my way into the gym, ignoring Eddie, Dimitri, Kirk, and Pavel as I reached my locker and pulled out my sparring gloves. Not sparing the curious men a look, I went over to one of the punching bags, pouring all my disappointment into it.

It wasn't that I was vain, ok – so maybe a _little_ bit - but didn't every girl dream of being a knockout at her prom? Especially when her man was going to be escorting her?

From the corner of my eye, I could see Dimitri questioning Meredith and his grandmother before warily padding his way across to where I was still giving the punching bag what for.

"Roza? Are you ok? Meredith said you were a little disappointed by your meeting with Miroslava?"

I snorted, embarrassed that Dimitri would think me superficial to stress about a dress, but at the same time bitterly disappointed that I was going to look like a bag lady, while Meredith, and no doubt every girl there, was going to look better than me! I could already imagine girls giving Dimitri sympathetic looks, wondering how a guy like him ended up taking the ugly duckling from St. Vladimir's to the dance.

"I'm sure your dresses will be beautiful. Babushka said women come from Novosibirsk and even Moscow to have gowns made by Miroslava…" he said softly.

I snorted again, this time derisively. I'm sure _Meredith's_ dress would be gorgeous, but since mine was brown, and the design covered me from neck to toes, I'm not sure there was _anything_ that could salvage what I'd apparently agreed to!

"I just wanted to look pretty," I said, looking at Dimitri moisture welling in my eyes.

"Roza you could wear a sack and look gorgeous," he announced, attempting to soothe me and confused why his comments caused me to descend into absolute torrents of tears.

Quickly dismissing training for the day, Dimitri suggested Eddie and Meredith walk Babushka home so he and I could follow behind and talk. It was late afternoon, but there was plenty of sunlight, and we'd easily get home before nightfall.

We walked along the quiet streets of Baia, and after much coaxing he'd managed to discover why I was worried about the dress.

"You see me in sweats all the time. I know I'm going to be a Guardian soon, but I'm a woman, too. I want to look nice sometimes you know?"

A look of understanding crossed my handsome man's face.

"We've got the fights tomorrow, but why don't we have a night out tonight? Baia has a couple of restaurants – we could go out on a date? Dress up a little?"

"You're only asking me because I'm upset!"

"No, I'm not. I've wanted to take you on another date, I promise."

While Olena's cooking was excellent, the idea of going out for the evening like an average couple was enticing.

"They'll probably have a band. We could dance," he tempted.

And like that I was sold.

I stopped in the roadway, looking up at my man.

"I'd love to," I smiled, feeling better already.

"Then let's go home. You get ready, and I'll ring and book us a table."

We wandered home, holding hands contentedly. When we walked inside, Dimitri announced his plans.

"Mama? I thought I would take Roza out on a date tonight. We won't be here for dinner."

Viktoria was sitting at the dining table and looked up. She must have just arrived home from St. Basil's.

"Mama cooks better than anyone in Baia. Why not just stay here?"

"Because I'd like to converse with my girlfriend without three sisters chiming in," Dimitri said, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Yeah and suck face, no doubt," Viktoria teased.

"We don't need to go out to do that," Dimitri smirked, grabbing me by the waist and kissing me thoroughly before lowering me back into a swoop. "See?"

Viktoria groaned and covered her eyes, but Olena was smiling. She seemed to enjoy seeing Dimitri and me being so affectionate.

"How did your fitting with Miroslava go?" she asked good-naturedly. I guess she's not spoken with Meredith or Yeva yet!

"Great. Meredith's dress is going to be gorgeous."

Olena's eyes were speculative. She caught the omission in my words.

"You don't like the plans for your dress?"

I shook my head.

"She had a vision for me, but it's kind of boring. And ugly."

"Don't worry just yet," Olena soothed. "She's unconventional, but I've never heard of anyone being unhappy with her work."

"There's a first time for everything," I grumbled with a sigh, slipping upstairs to choose what to wear tonight before I got upset again.

Dimitri slipped into our room not long after.

"You've got fights, tomorrow, so we need an early night. I've made an early booking."

We showered, separately, and by the time I was out of the bathroom getting dressed, Dimitri was already downstairs waiting for me. Carefully dressing in a calf-length knit dress, I spent ten minutes styling my hair into long, loose curls before doing a light smoky eye, mascara, and tinted lip gloss. I slipped on a pair of three-inch heels then teetered down the staircase just before the others were about to sit down for dinner.

"You look good Hathaway," Eddie said admiringly, looking up from the table. It was the first time I'd worn anything pretty in quite a while.

"Thanks, Castile," I replied, before taking in my handsome man. He was wearing dark jeans and a tight sweater over a white button up. He honestly looked good enough to eat!

"Take the car," Olena directed, handing Dimitri her keys. Nodding, we said our farewells and I saw my man position his stakes comfortably before we stepped outside and walked to the vehicle.

We were basically in summer, now, so the nights had lost much of their coldness. It was chilly enough that I appreciated the weight of my knit dress, but I didn't need a coat. Dimitri opened the passenger door of his mother's car, shutting it for me before coming around to the driver's door. Leaning down, he pushed the chair all the way back before elegantly folding himself into the driver's seat. The vehicle wasn't large, but somehow he fit.

"So where are we going?" I asked tentatively. Baia was far from large, and there weren't a lot of restaurants. Pretty much the hotel, and a couple of small places on the main street.

Dimitri named a place along the main drag.

"I'm not sure if it's any good," he said apologetically. "I've never taken a girl out to dinner in Baia before."

"So I'm the first girl you're showing your hometown?" I said with a little smirk.

"You are, so you'd better behave yourself!"

* * *

It was late, much later than we'd planned when we finally made it through the front door of the Belikov's house.

We'd taken our time over dinner, talking, holding hands and sneaking kisses between mouthfuls of food as we shared the platter for two. But dinner had finished before we were ready to go home, so we'd walked down to the hotel, enjoying a few beers and then dancing.

The band had been good - playing originals, classics and some modern covers. While I didn't understand the lyrics to their Russian songs, the beat was strong, and Dimitri held me hard up against him as he led me around the small dance floor. It was awkward, at first. We'd never really danced together before, but we soon found our rhythm, and I loved being in my man's arms, hips pressed tightly against his as we danced.

The music was getting slower, and the lights were turned down when the mood between us shifted. What had been relaxed and fun turned sultry, and the words Dimitri was crooning in my ear became more carnal and loaded. I could feel him hardening as we swayed, his cock pressed between us in a silent promise for the rest of the evening.

"It's nearly eleven," Dimitri purred as he nibbled my earlobe, the sound of his breath in my ear the sexiest thing imaginable. "I want to take you home and…"

He didn't say any more, but the push of his thick, hard cock against my abdomen was testament enough to his intentions.

Taking me by the hand, he pulled me from the almost empty bar, and we practically ran to the car half a block away. However, even in our desperation to get home, Dimitri still unlocked my car door first, waiting for me to seat myself before shutting the door and rounding the car, climbing into the driver's seat.

I don't think we got past third gear as Dimitri raced down the deserted streets, the engine's scream echoing our own desperate needs. We pulled up outside his house, Dimitri all but skidding to a halt and engaging the handbrake as I sprang from the car. With my present desire, I didn't have time for Dimitri to be a gentleman and open the car door for me. I wanted him to take me immediately, and certainly _not_ in a gentlemanly way!

Ever on the same page, Dimitri grabbed me and pushed me up against the front door. I hooked a leg around him as our lips met, him lifting the bottom of my dress and grinding himself against my covered core. I whimpered into his mouth in objection as he pulled back slightly, trying to find the keyhole. Eventually finding it he slid the key home, opening the door and simultaneously lifting me, so my legs were wrapped around his waist.

Our lips were still joined as he removed the keys, abandoning them on the hall table and shutting the door. I knew without being told to be quiet. It was late, and the household would all be asleep.

His hands now unencumbered, Dimitri had them on my ass, partially holding me in place, partially pushing me down against his cock. He carried me into the darkened living room, and it was then I think we both appreciated we weren't going to be able to make it up the stairs. I wanted him to take me right then and there, and he was of the same opinion!

He carried me toward the first piece of furniture that caught his eye; his grandmother's armchair. And while it would be the perfect height for what we had in mind, I couldn't in good conscience let him claim me in the chair where his grandmother sat every day, drinking tea and knitting!

"Sofa," I moaned against his lips, distracting him enough to have him spin and carry me over to one of the couches in the room.

Lowering me onto the lower of the two, I pushed the numerous cushions into one corner, using them as a sort of a backrest. Meanwhile, Dimitri sunk to his knees in front of me, popping the button on his fly and pulling down his jeans and boxers, freeing his rock hard dick.

I shimmied in front of him, lifting up the edges of my dress. He found my hips and pulled me forward, so my butt was only just on the edge of the sofa. And without another word, he pushed my panties to one side, revealing my saturated core. I lifted my knees up and further apart, and seconds later, he was balls deep inside me.

Neither of us could help an initial groan as he slid home. We were trying to keep it down, honestly, we were, if for no other fact than I couldn't bear the teasing from Dimitri's sisters if they heard us and came down to catch us in such a compromising position! So I buried my face in the crook of Dimitri's shoulder as he leaned forward, grabbing the back of the sofa with one hand as he pushed into me again and again.

The feeling was heavenly. Pure hedonistic pleasure as we fucked with mutual abandon. I knew he wasn't going to be able to last long. Hell - I'd been rubbing against his hardness all night - and I'd seen him get more and more turned on as the evening wore on. But the effect had been two-fold; I wanted him every bit as much as he wanted me!

The angle of him kneeling on the floor, me with my ass hanging off the seat of the sofa, was good. With every thrust, the head of his cock slammed into that sweet spot on the front wall of my channel, and he lifted me up slightly.

"Dimitri," I whimpered into his neck. I was so so close, and his tiny grunts told me he was, too.

My vocalization seemed to spur him on, and he picked up the pace, brutally pounding into me. His face buried in my hair, he was rubbing the side of his face against mine. The only noises in the room, now, was the soft slap of skin against skin and the slick sounds he made as he slid in and out of my wetness.

And then, finally, when it felt like I had every muscle clenched, I let go. With a tiny whimper, I bit down on my man's shoulder to stop myself screaming with my release. I felt my walls clamp around him; gripping him tight within me as wave after wave of pulses spread up from my core to my breasts and then everywhere else.

Biting him must have shoved him over the edge, too. He groaned and then I felt him flood me from within, the pulses from his cock mirroring mine as he released his wet warmth.

I slumped back against the cushions on the sofa, Dimitri flopped on top of me in exhaustion, his cock still buried within me. We stayed like that for a minute, too spent to move. My man's head nestled beside mine, his ears at my lips, he whispered, "Don't change, Roza – because I'm never going to get bored of that!"

"I hope not," I whispered back. "Because I won't either!"

I frowned as he pulled out of me, gently positioning my panties back into place before tucking his still wet cock back into his boxers and pulling up his jeans. He zipped up his fly and did up the button before helping me to my feet. I wobbled on shaky legs, appreciating I was still wearing the three-inch heels I'd selected to match my dress tonight. Something about being fucked wearing my high heels felt so illicit and very sexy. I stifled a giggle as Dimitri wrapped his arm around my waist to help me across to the stairs.

"Did you have a good night, ангел?"

"The dinner and dancing were great, but there's nothing quite like being home is there?" I murmured cheekily as climbed the stairs to our room and possibly round two.


	47. Chapter 47

If anyone had overheard our amorous encounter the night before, it wasn't mentioned the next day. Olena asked what time we got in, but there were no knowing looks or twinkling eyes. Dimitri gave an account of the meal we shared, then explained that we'd gone dancing and time had got away from us, so we were back late.

An afternoon of fighting was the _last_ thing I felt like, but Dimitri reminded me I might one day again be called on to fight tired - and I knew after my latest kill how hard that was. Besides, I was conscious in twenty days I'd be having my trials. Not being ready wasn't an option.

We trained lightly in the morning, wanting to be fresh for the fights. While initially, the fights had been a bit of a lark, and a chance for a gathering and some free food for the locals, they were getting more serious now. Our competitors no longer assumed we were greenhorn Novices, and more experienced fighters were coming to check us out.

By time I'd won six fights out of seven, and finally sunk into a seat next to my father with a plate full of food, I was nursing a number of bruises and a notebook filled with techniques and moves to research thanks to Chaung, one of Abe's Guardian's who'd refereed my fights. I glanced up at Eddie, Meredith, and Vika where they sat nearby, and they all looked as exhausted as I felt.

"Only two more of these to go," I grumbled, feeling sore and a little sorry for myself.

Meredith groaned, massaging her sore leg muscles.

"What sort of freaks organize a dance at the end of weeks of training and then trials? It's alright for you," she continued looking at Eddie. "You can cover everything under a suit! You can bet the Moroi girls will spend a week in a spa before graduation ball," she grumbled dispiritedly, "and they won't have fluffy hair, ragged nails and be covered in bruises for graduation!"

"They need a week in a spa to compete with what we were born with," I joked, trying to raise her spirits. But I saw her point.

"Don't worry about that," Sonya said kindly. "Karo, Vika and I will spoil you two graduation morning. We're better than any spa!"

"Where are you staying on campus, anyway?" Viktoria asked curiously.

"Guest quarters," Dimitri replied. "Guardian Sokolov has put us up in a three-bedroom unit there."

"Ohhh! Two of you will have to share!" she teased.

I turned to Dimitri, but he smiled at me reassuringly. Ok. So we'd be sharing a room. I was down with that!

"Rose? I was wondering if we could have a moment?" Abe asked quietly once I'd finished my meal. Around us the party was just getting started, Abe's beer and food still being in plentiful supply.

"Sure."

I followed him out through the kitchenette area at the side of the gym and out into a dilapidated small outdoor space. With some attention to the garden, and the addition of chairs, it could be a pleasant alfresco area – but as it was, with weeds almost the size of triffids, the spot was unwelcoming and consequently abandoned.

"What's up, old man?" I asked, speculating about his unusual lack of words.

He regarded me carefully.

"Well… I was thinking of calling your mother."

"Why?" I blurted out in surprise.

"Why not? We were friendly once. Very friendly," he said waggling his eyebrows suggestively in a way that was truly cringe-worthy. "We have a daughter together. Surely that warrants a conversation?" he defended.

I shrugged.

"Is there really that much to talk about? I'm an adult now."

"I think your mother and I should talk. We're both a part of your life. We're bound to see each other at events in the future. It would be better if we'd at least spoken to one another before we have to see each other again."

"Baba? Honestly, I'd leave it alone. Mom is… Mom. And she might not want to talk to you."

"Why? What has she said?" he asked, and if I didn't know better, I would think he was nervous.

"Nothing," I quickly said, cutting him off before he went too far down that line of inquiry. "I just mean Mom is not much of a talker. Her way of dealing with things is pretending they don't exist."

"Really?" he asked, pondering my words.

"It's what she did with me," I said, moving back toward the door.

"I think I should speak with her," he reiterated obdurately.

"Well I'm not giving you her number, and I suggest when you do get it, text first. If you put her on the spot it won't end well," I predicted, thinking of her reactions when I'd cornered her in the past.

* * *

"Where did you and Abe disappear earlier?" Dimitri asked as I stood in front of the washing hamper in our room peeling off smelly, fetid clothing later that evening.

"Just outside. He wants to call Mom."

"Why?" he asked.

"That's what I said!" I laughed. "He gave me some story about settling things between them before they have to see each other again. He thinks they'll have to come face to face some time because of me."

Dimitri lifted an eyebrow dubiously, and I laughed again.

"I told him I wasn't going to give him her number, and I suggested when he got it, he text her first."

"Do you think you should warn her?" Dimitri asked looking at his watch. "It will be 9 am there…"

My eyes met his and I sagged. I _knew_ he was going to suggest that!

"Alright," I grumbled, pulling out my cell and dialing.

"Hathaway," Mom announced tersely.

"Hi, Mom. Now a good time?" I asked.

"Yes, fine Rosemarie. I've just had dinner and was just going over some Guardian reports."

I rolled my eyes. Figured Mom would take work home with her. Maybe because she had nothing better to do, a little voice said in the back of my head.

"How are things in Russia?" she asked.

"Good. Had another fighting intensive today. There were a couple of Guardians there from St. Phillipe's and they had some new moves, so I'm learning those."

"Well they're fast, I'll give them that," she allowed, referring to the reputation of graduates from the Academy in France.

"So… How's the leg?" I pressed, trying to make a semblance of a conversation before launching into Abe's intentions.

"All healed!" she said brightly. "In fact, I've been cleared for light work around Court starting next week, and that going well I'm off to Brazil in a fortnight with Lord Szelsky."

She'd be away for my graduation. Not that I'd expected her to come all the way to Russia. But still.

"Don't worry – I'll be back in time for your allocation ceremony. Lord Szelsky understands how important it is to me to be there for that," she said quickly.

"So Brazil? That will be fun?"

"It's only for a week, but Lord Szelsky has a cousin there," she explained. "He's been meaning to go for a while, and it was a good opportunity to get me back up to speed as the place we'll be visiting is well guarded."

I was surprised that a Moroi Royal thought enough about their Guardian's needs to ease them back into service or make sure they were back at Court in time for a family commitment. But Mom had been with Lord Szelsky for a long time, so I suppose a certain amount of familiarity and give and take was to be expected.

"So Abe had a conversation with me today," I started. "He said he wanted to give you a call."

"Why?" she asked sounding surprised and nervous. "You didn't give him my number did you?!"

"No, I didn't. He said he thought it would be best if you talked things through," I explained.

"What's to talk through? We spent a weekend together nearly twenty years ago, he moved on, and I was left holding the baby," she said bitterly.

"Thanks. Love you too, Mom," I mumbled sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant, Rosemarie," she snapped, reverting to her default status – indignant anger.

"I don't want to argue. I was just letting you know he is looking for your number and is intending to call you. I didn't give it to him, but you know he'll get it easily enough. I suggested he text you first to give you time to collect your thoughts. I didn't think you'd welcome being blindsided."

Mom was silent as she listened.

"Yes thank you. I appreciate that" she replied, her voice softening. "Did he say why he wanted to talk?"

"Just that you're bound to see each other at some time in the future, and he thought it best you'd at least spoken before then."

"Give me his number," she said with steely determination.

I was surprised, but then realized I shouldn't have been. Janine Hathaway wasn't one to run away from a fight.

"Ok. But don't ring him straight away. You wouldn't appreciate a call out of the blue, so give him the same courtesy. I'll give you his number, then give me ten minutes to call him and let him know, alright?"

"Oh, I won't call him today," she said, with a playful tone of voice I didn't recognize. "I want him to stew waiting for my call!"

"Mom! If you don't call him, he'll call you," I warned.

"I know. Just tell your father you've given me his number and I'll call him soon."

"How soon?" I asked suspiciously.

"It's a relative term," Mom laughed. "Have to go, Rosemarie. Glad the training is going well." And then she hung up on me.

"She hung up on me!" I gasped to Dimitri who was sitting on our bed listening to my part of the call.

He shrugged as if to that 'it's your mother!'

I quickly dialed Abe's number.

"Kiz?" he answered. "What's up?"

"Just letting you know I called Mom and told her you wanted to talk. She asked for your number, so I gave it to her. She said she'd call you soon. I hope that's ok?"

"How soon is soon?" he asked suspiciously.

"Your guess is as good as mine. She's back on active duty around Court next week, then off to Brazil with Lord Szelsky in a fortnight. But she did say she'd get in touch."

"Well thank you for that," Abe said, sounding distracted. "I guess I'll wait for her call."

I rang off, laughing to myself.

"Janine Hathaway versus Abe Mazur, round one goes to Janine," I laughed.

"They really enjoy baiting each other, don't they?" Dimitri laughed, pulling me against him and down onto the bed. "Maybe it's their version of foreplay?"

I screwed up my face and shuddered.

"Glad they're on different continents, then," I mumbled before enjoying a bit of before bed affection from my man.

* * *

Abe and Yeva were up to something. Abe was over for the usual Sunday lunch, and they'd been whispering in the corner for half an hour, looking over at Meredith and me. Finally, Yeva sauntered off, a grin on her face.

"What are you up to, old man?" I asked walking over to him.

"Now why do you automatically assume I'm up to something?" he asked, with pretend hurt.

"Because I know you. You're plotting something."

"I'm sorry you think so," he replied, turning away. But the sparkle in his eyes gave him away.

"Has he always been like this?" I asked Pavel.

"As long as I've known him," he replied with a long-suffering sigh.

In the end, I didn't have to wait too long to discover their little plot. On Tuesday at lunchtime, Yeva announced Meredith and I would be needed at Miroslava's for a fitting that afternoon, so we should wear our shoes.

"I've only got the black pair I wore the other night, but they'll do," I replied. I didn't hold high hopes for the dress, so I didn't think it really mattered what shoes I wore with it.

"I don't have any heels here at all!" Meredith wailed. She was starting to ask Dimitri's sisters their shoe sizes, and if they had anything she could borrow, when Babushka held up her hand imperiously.

"You need not concern yourself with that."

She stood and shuffled toward the door, halfway there when there was a knock.

"Sneaky witch," I muttered under my breath.

"Roza!" Dimitri admonished, balking at the criticism of his grandmother.

"WITCH Comrade," I said defensively. "With a W."

He shook his head as Babushka returned from the door, followed by two of Abe's Guardians each carrying numerous boxes.

"Shoe size six and a half and seven, yes?" she asked Meredith and me respectively.

"Yes…?" I answered warily.

"Your father knew you'd need shoes, so he's organized a selection for you each to try on."

I said something rather colorful under my breath, recognizing the boxes as shoe boxes. Each Guardian was carrying at least nine.

"Put them on each sofa, then bring in the rest of them," she instructed.

"The _rest_ of them! How many shoes are there?!" I wailed.

"Enough," Babushka said with a satisfied smirk, seating herself in her armchair preparing to watch our show.

"Dimka? Take the young man back to the gym," she instructed, refusing to let us open the boxes until Eddie and Dimitri had vacated the house.

Frowning at Dimitri's 'just go with it' look, I grudgingly watched him high-tail it from the house as I surrendered myself to Yeva, Olena, Sonya, and Karolina, who were all grinning expectantly.

"Where did he get so many shoes from, anyway?" I grumbled.

"Omsk," Karolina said with a smirk. "Abe told us what was required, so we told him all the best stores, and he organized a selection to be sent to you."

"That must have cost a fortune," Meredith said faintly, looking ill.

"They'll return the ones you don't want," Sonya reassured her. "They've brought purses for you to choose from, too."

"Of course they did," I muttered sardonically, throwing the lid off the first box of shoes and peering inside. Bronzish beige. Great.

For the next hour, I tried on various teetering high heels in numerous shades of brown, while Meredith did the same with the blue selections she'd been brought. We each narrowed it down to three pair. All of mine were four to five inches high, one of them with a slight platform to give me extra height. I was going with Dimitri, after all. I could use every extra bit of height I could get!

Meredith chose more sensibly, each of her three pair around the three and a half inch height.

"Are these expensive?" she asked staring at the three pair she was considering.

"Manolo Blahnik? Doesn't _sound_ like an expensive brand," I mused.

"Good. Your dad's already done so much; I don't want to accept anything expensive."

After the shoes had been decided, we were on to purses. Meredith squealed when she opened the box containing her bag selections, immediately fishing out the prettiest blue beaded bag I had ever seen.

"I'll ask Eddie to carry my stake, or I'll wear a thigh holster," she said, reluctant to let go of the prize, even to pass it to the ladies present to look at.

"That's the exact shade of your dress," Yeva noted approvingly.

Opening the box sent for me, I was again underwhelmed.

"Oh look. More beige…" I growled with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. That said, there were a couple of pretty beaded clutches, and there was a weird sort of drawstring bag thing that caught my eye.

"Right. Get changed into your undergarments. We're off to Miroslava's for a fitting. Bring your shoes and bags," Yeva instructed.

I set off to my room, Sonya following me up the stairs.

"You might want to ask Mama if she'd like to come to Miroslava's. She's dying to see the dresses, but doesn't want to suggest coming."

"Yeah, of course, I'll ask her. Did you want to come, too?"

"Hell no! I like her dresses, but Miroslava is a bitch! All I'll get is _'you've put on too much weight for a first pregnancy, and your buds are going to get saggy,'"_ she said in a decent impersonation of the Russian dressmaker's drawl. "I'll see it when it's done!"

"That's if it's worth seeing," I sighed.

"It will be. She wouldn't have agreed to make you a dress unless it would be good."

I nodded, but only because I couldn't be bothered arguing.

Back downstairs I quickly asked Olena whether she would like to join us. Her instantaneous grin was answer enough. So soon the four of us were bundled into Olena's car, the trunk filled with shoe boxes.

Upstairs in Miroslava's workshop, we stripped to bra and panties again. Once again Miroslava started with Meredith, directing her to stand on the dais, while Olena ushered me over to a table where large photo albums were piled. She started to flick through them, showing me some of Miroslava's creations. And I had to admit – they were works of art. Every single one was strikingly beautiful, and no two were alike. The woman had talent.

"She won't let you look anything other than your best," Olena promised, putting her arm around me in a cuddle.

"Thanks," I said giving her a sheepish smile, feeling better about the situation.

We turned as Miroslava carried over Meredith's dress. It was almost complete, and even on the hanger, it looked sensational. Inspecting the shoes Meredith had considered, Miroslava pointed imperiously to a pair, declaring those to be 'the ones.' I grinned when I noticed they were the Manolo whoever that had been her top pick.

She slipped into her dress, Miroslava using pins and clips to take it in where necessary. Once she was done, I passed Meredith her bag, and the Russian dressmaker nodded in approval. Other than hemming and the final fitting, she was done.

Then it was my turn.

"Next time wear a strapless bra," she said. "I will do your final fitting just before the day, so it fits perfectly. You will wear those shoes," she instructed, pointing to the plainest and tallest pair I'd brought.

And then she brought out my dress. I nearly burst into tears. It wasn't the beige fabric from last time. Even that would have been an improvement on this. My gown was made up in plain, cheap cotton.

I stared at it then Miroslava, eyes wide. Somehow I wondered if maybe she had a grudge against Abe and I'd be the one who pays the price by looking hideous.

"This isn't the fabric you showed me," I spluttered, too astounded to be angry.

"Fabric I showed you very expensive. Too expensive to make mistakes. This is a pattern in cotton. We get the fit right in this; then I cut the fabric."

I grudgingly shrugged the dress on. The back was completely unstitched, so I stepped in, and she pinned it up.

"It won't hang like this one will it?" I asked with suspicion. This one went to just above my knees then became more full, the fabric dropping in weird ruffles.

"No. The silk fabric is much lighter. Don't worry about the hang."

I stood there while she pinned, poked and prodded.

"Ok. Off. Next one," she announced, producing a dress in a similar shape but less covering.

"What's this?"

"The underdress. Two dresses. One the top, one the underneath," she explained in a tone of voice that suggested I was a simpleton. Olena smiled at me encouragingly, so I slipped this dress on. It was a lot tighter than the first one and was tighter still by the time Miroslava had finished pinning. I only got stabbed three times – not that I gave her the satisfaction of knowing it.

I stepped out of the second cotton prototype when directed, donning my street clothes.

"Are you sure it's going to look ok?" I asked nervously. While I could see Meredith's gown was going to look superb, I still had serious reservations about my own.

I expected a rude retort, but instead, I got a smile.

"Don't worry little flower. You will be in your most beautiful bloom," she promised, gently caressing my cheek before shoeing me to put my heels and bag away.

"You see. I told you all would be alright," Olena said sweetly as I trailed her down the stairs and back to street level. "Now why don't we celebrate with coffee and a piece of cake?"


	48. Chapter 48

"How come Meredith gets her dress tomorrow, and I don't?!" I grumbled, not for the first time this week. Dimitri ran his hand through his loose shoulder length hair – a sure sign he was getting frustrated with me.

"You heard what Babushka said, ангел. Meredith's dress took less work than yours. Besides – wouldn't you rather be at the lake with me tomorrow than at a dress fitting?!"

It had been a shit week. Knowing we were fast approaching our trials, Dimitri had stepped up the training even more, meaning we were constantly sore and tired. Sonya was getting more and more excited, and nervous, about her trip to Omsk with Olena, Babushka, and Eddie so was vacillating between enthusiasm and irritability fast enough to give us all whiplash. Finally, Abe had been in poor humor all week in what I believed to be directly attributable to the lack of the promised phone call from my mother. So we were all feeling out of sorts by the time Tuesday evening rolled around.

The plan was for Eddie to drive Sonya, Olena, and Yeva to Omsk in Olena's car. They would be setting out early in the morning to maximize the number of hours they could spend there. In Omsk, they would first visit Kirill and the flat, and then Olena and Yeva would do some shopping while Eddie, Kirill, and Sonya did the necessary tasks for the apartment.

Meredith said she'd planned to spend the morning sleeping in and relaxing before heading to Miroslava's to have the final fitting for her dress, while Dimitri and I were off to spend the day at the lake.

"We'll have a good day for it," Dimitri tempted. "The forecast is thirty degrees…"

"What's that in Fahrenheit?" I grumbled.

"Warm. About eighty-five."

I grunted. At least I wouldn't freeze.

I knew I was being a bitch about things, but I was still worried about my dress, and it seemed so unfair that Meredith got hers finished while I'd not even got a good look at mine yet. However a day off training was nothing to be sneezed at, and I was looking forward to a whole day alone with Dimitri, so I tried to reign in my mood.

The next morning all bar Meredith were up bright and early. Olena was busily stacking the trunk of her car with bottles of pickled vegetables, jars of jams and chutneys, kitchen towels and even some new saucepans. While even amongst the family she claimed she was 'helping Kirill settle into his new flat' and that 'a young man doesn't have time to shop for this sort of thing' no one even pretended to believe she was doing anything other than stocking Sonya's new kitchen. Finally, everything and everyone was loaded, and they set out for the two-hour drive to Omsk.

"I wish they'd taken Abe up on his offer to borrow the van," Dimitri mumbled as we stood out the front waving them goodbye.

"You know your Mama. She'd feel like she owed Abe a favor."

Back inside, I raced up to our bedroom, slipping on a bikini I'd optimistically packed back in the States. I quickly dressed, covering my swimsuit with a pair of cutoff shorts and a TShirt. Downstairs Dimitri was packing our picnic lunch; potato salad, cold chicken, cheese and crackers, strawberries and even a couple of bottles of wine. I passed him our towels, and by 8 am we were saying our farewells to Karolina, walking toward the lake with Paul on his way to school.

"Uncle Dimka? Is Sonya going to get married to Kirill?"

"It's a possibility," Dimitri replied with a smile.

"So are you going to marry Auntie Rose?"

"That depends," I replied, not looking at Paul or Dimitri.

"On what?" they both asked, one curious the other alarmed.

"It depends on whether your uncle can convince me to put up with him," I laughed, sidestepping the question.

A little later we came to the same road where I'd made my most recent kill.

"See you this afternoon, Paul," Dimitri said as we veered off the road toward the lake. I looked around dubiously. Here the lake looked like a huge, shallow, weedy expanse of water abutting a grassy field.

"Later in the day when it's hotter, it will get busy here. This is the closest point of the lake to town, and it's shallow so good for wading. But since we have all day, I thought we'd walk around to a more secluded spot where the water is deeper?"

I almost purred in satisfaction. 'Secluded spot' tied in with my plans for a little topless sunbathing later on. We continued around the edge of the lake, the shore changing from grassy fields to gravel and eventually large rocks. After an hour of walking, we clambered over some particularly large boulders, and Dimitri declared us 'arrived.'

The spot was gorgeous. A natural cove on the edge of the larger lake, the horseshoe-shaped space was hidden from view by large rocks on either side. You'd only be able to see into the cove from the lake itself. There was a pebbled beach area that transitioned into low shrubbery and behind that pristine forest.

"When we were kids in summer we'd spend days here," he said. "We'd come first thing in the morning. Mama would bring a loaf of bread and a bottle of pickled peppers and mushrooms, and we'd swim and play all day. Babushka would pick wild berries and herbs in the forest and Mama would sing and sew. They were happy times."

"They sound it," I said wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him to me for a kiss. "Thank you for bringing me here, Comrade."

* * *

We'd gone for a swim in the cool, clear water, eaten a delicious lunch, shared a bottle of wine, swam again, and I was now lying on my tummy doing a little sunbathing. I reached behind me, pulling loose the strings fastening my bikini top.

"Roza?" Dimitri asked, his voice husky from where he was lounging bare-chested beside me, reading a Western.

"I don't want any tan lines," I explained. My face was hidden from him, but I was smirking. I lay there tanning for ten minutes before I rolled over, plucking my bikini top from my chest and lying there nude other than my skimpy bikini bottoms.

"Tan lines?" he moaned, moving closer to me on the picnic blanket.

"Ahha!" I agreed, not opening my eyes.

I felt him move closer, and then without warning, I felt my lover's mouth gently take a nipple between his lips.

"I won't tan if you do that," I murmured, without any real conviction.

"Tanning's overrated," he growled, relinquishing my breast for an instant before suckling at it like an infant. My hand slipped to his head, playing with his hair as he focused his attention on my chest. I rolled toward him, using my fingernails to draw patterns on his back as he playfully buried his face between my breasts.

"I could spend all day like this," he teased.

"Knock yourself out," I laughed, peppering the top of his head with kisses.

"Or maybe I could spend the day _here,"_ he continued, kissing his way down from my breasts to my midriff, rubbing his face against my abs. "You have some fine muscles there, Novice Hathaway," he crooned.

"You put them there," I laughed, running my fingers through his hair and trying not to laugh. No way in _hell_ I was letting him know I was ticklish!

"Are you _ticklish_ Roza?" he asked gleefully.

Damn!

"No, not ticklish…"

"I think you might be…" he argued.

"I'm not ticklish," I growled. "I just think there are better things you could be doing with your lips!"

"Uhha," Dimitri uttered disbelievingly but bringing his lips back up to my breasts again. "Is this more like it?"

"I can live with it," I sighed happily, stroking his head again as his lips worshipped my soft globes. He pulled me close to him, his hands playing on the bare skin of my back.

"I love you, Dimitri," I murmured nuzzling his hair.

"I know it," he replied. "I love you, too."

"I wish it could be like this all the time."

"No, you don't. You'd get bored."

"Maybe eventually," I conceded. "It just seems we never get enough time to ourselves. And it's only going to get worse once I get an allocation, isn't it?"

"It's hard to say. A lot depends on who you get allocated to."

"What if Christian won't have me as his Guardian?"

"We'll deal with that if it happens" he replied firmly. "But now is not the time to worry."

He rolled me onto my back, pushing his knee between my legs as he climbed on top of me. He alternated between my breasts, nipping and sucking at each until my nipples were puckered, hardened nubs. I arched my back, lifting my chest toward him, and he slipped an arm beneath me, holding me in place.

"You're beautiful. So so beautiful," he moaned, rocking his hips against mine. I gasped, feeling the hardness of his cock concealed by his swim shorts. I squirmed beneath him, wriggling until his hardness was pressed directly against my core. Leaning up, I nipped at his earlobe, my breath hitching with every firm push of his dick against the tiny bright yellow scrap of fabric covering my folds.

I slid my hands down his back, playing with the back of his swim trunks. Lifting the waistband gingerly, I slipped the fingers of one hand inside his bathers, letting them gently caress his backside, relishing in the tightening of the muscles of his ass as he ground himself against me.

Dimitri's lips were on my neck, trailing open-mouthed kisses up to just beneath my jawline. He was making the most adorable little groans, that just added to my excitement. My slit was slick with excitement, my body preparing me for him.

"We can't do it here! Anyone could see us!" I gasped as he again pushed his covered length hard against me.

"There's no one to see," Dimitri growled. He had a point. We were completely secluded in the little cove and had heard and seen no one all day. But in concession to my modesty, he sat up and pushed the picnic basket to one side. Taking a careful look around, he quickly removed my saturated bikini bottoms, unashamedly discarding his swimming trunks before settling back on top of me, pulling half of the picnic blanket over to cover us from any intrusive eyes.

"Happy?" he asked, his lips pressed hard against mine.

"Yes," I groaned. And a second later, we were one.

* * *

"Feeling more relaxed now?" he asked as he walked through the late afternoon sun along the waters edge back toward Baia.

"Very relaxed," I said with a smile. It had been the perfect afternoon – sunning ourselves, making love, skinny dipping, eating strawberries, having more wine, swimming again, and now walking home.

"Dimitri? Wherever we end up, I want us to still do things like this. I know it won't be all the time, but when we can."

"We will, Roza."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I love you. We'll find a way to be together and make the time to show each other we care."

I smiled as he stopped and dropped a delicate kiss onto my lips before we continued walking.

"How do you think Sonya went in Omsk?"

"It would have been ok. Mama would have approved of and loved everything in the flat. Babushka would point out tiny flaws, but secretly would be pleased for her. Eddie would be in his element!"

"Do you think Kirill's going to propose soon?"

Dimitri didn't reply, so I sneaked a look at his face.

"Oh my God! He's proposing today, isn't he?!" I gasped.

"No… But I think it's going to be soon…"

I grinned. It was hard to believe their whole love story had played out during the short weeks we'd been in Baia. But they'd both fallen head over heels, and I knew first hand how fast love could grow when given even the slightest encouragement. I hoped we'd be there to share in the happiness of Sonya and Kirill's engagement. I knew Dimitri hated being away from his family but particularly missing special events like these.

"I asked Mama to pick up a clock while she was out shopping today from us for their engagement. We'll be back in the States by the time they wed, so I wanted to have something we could give them if we're here on the day of their engagement."

"I'm going to be sad to leave," I admitted, his words reminding me that in two weeks time the elimination fights would be over, and we'd be heading back to the States. "I still can't believe I got to see Russia!"

"I still can't believe I got to bring you here. My family adores you, Roza. They already consider you one of their own…"

"I love them too. I feel at home here Comrade," I replied. "Baia feels like home."

I squeezed his hand, and we walked quietly through the grass at the water's edge toward the road, feeling a peace we only ever seemed to feel when we were in one another's company.

"We've done nothing but relax all day, but I'm exhausted," I joked as we reached the gravel road and turned toward home.

"Maybe we can have an early night," he suggested, his eyes meeting mine. Nothing more was said, but we stepped up our speed as we walked home.

"We're back," Dimitri called out as he let us into the house.

We walked into the living room to find Abe and Pavel sitting awkwardly drinking tea with Meredith and Karolina.

"Hey Baba," I said easily, going over to kiss his cheek. "Why are you here?"

"No reason. We saw Meredith here in town coming down the street with a dress bag, so we gave her a lift home. Karolina said she expected you'd be home before sundown, so since it wasn't long, I waited to say hello."

It was such a _normal_ thing to do! My father stopping by for a cup of tea. Somehow it was heart-warming to know that we'd reached a stage in our relationship where we could interact in such an easy way.

"Mama and the others not back yet?" Dimitri asked, looking out through the net curtains to the rapidly approaching dusk.

"No," Karo said, trying not to look worried. "But they can't be far away."

"I'll call to check," Dimitri said, picking up the kitchen phone and dialing.

"Castile," he greeted. "Where are you? The light is fading."

The five of us watched as Dimitri listened to what Eddie was relaying.

"It sounds like the radiator fan," he groaned. "It's done that since forever when it's hot. The only thing to do is let it cool completely and then try starting it then. Where are you exactly?"

I could see Dimitri's jaw tightening as he heard whatever Eddie had to say.

"Castile? Listen to me. Get everyone into the car. Lock yourselves in. You're half an hour or so away from us, but we'll be there as soon as we can. Check the glove box. There should be an old stake of mine in there. I don't know if the charm's been renewed recently, but it's better than nothing."

To their credit, Abe and Pavel were already on their feet, Pavel on the phone to the house mobilizing Abe's Guardians. I raced upstairs to grab my stakes, Dimitri thundering up behind me. Still on the phone, he switched to speaker, changing into cargo pants and loading his stakes so he could fight if he needed to.

"An attack is unlikely. It's basically summer, and Strigoi aren't as active, particularly right after sundown. But you might also run afoul of human bandits. If anyone stops, follow Babushka and Mama's lead."

I was starting to panic. I could hear the tension in Eddie's voice as he spoke. Broken down on the side of the road at night with an old lady, a pregnant woman and an untrained woman in her forties to protect was not a great situation. We needed to get there as soon as possible.

Back downstairs, Pavel ordered Abe to stay put, unequivocally declaring his presence would be more hindrance than help. Dimitri issued brief instructions to Karolina and Meredith.

"Meredith, I need you to stay here with Karo, Abe, and the kids. Lock the doors," he ordered, and I passed her one of my stakes. That done Dimitri and I followed Pavel out to the van. Appreciating Dimitri knew the roads better, Pavel ceded control of the vehicle to my Russian God, also demanding I take the middle row center seat. The safest spot. Any other time I might have objected, but this time I zipped it and buckled up.

Dimitri all but flew into town, skidding to a stop in front of Abe's house to pick up four Guardians waiting on the kerbside. Before they were even properly buckled in, he was turning onto the road out of Baia headed toward Omsk.

"Call Eddie," Dimitri instructed. "I need to get a better idea of exactly where they are."

I slipped my phone out of my pocket, dialing Eddie's number. He answered immediately, and I put him on speaker. Eddie must have done likewise because hearing his mother's voice, Dimitri suddenly launched into Russian, firing off questions and getting answers.

"We're about fifteen minutes away," he said in English for my benefit, stepping up the speed as we hit the freeway.

We kept Eddie on the line, Olena tensely asking about our day. No one really felt like talking, but I filled the silence by nervously nattering about the lake. We were probably ten minutes away from them when it all turned to shit. Olena was halfway through telling us about their shopping adventures when there was a shrill scream from Sonya.

There was nothing for a moment, and then we heard Eddie bark "Stay in the car. All of you! Lock the doors" then a car door slamming.

"What's happening?" I gasped.

There was a pause then Yeva answered.

"Strigoi."


	49. Chapter 49

Dimitri accelerated rapidly while firing question after question in Russian to his grandmother. I could see my man's jaw tense, and the needle on the accelerator inching even higher. I stayed silent, but as Yeva offered more information in their native tongue, I was getting increasingly frustrated. I wanted to know what was going on, goddammit!

Pavel's turned in his seat, starting to mutter instructions to his Guardians when he caught my expression. Appreciating I couldn't speak Russian, he quickly switched to English.

"One Strigoi, so far. Castile has engaged and is holding his own. As soon as we get there, we will exit the van and secure the area. If it is safe, we are to move the ladies to this vehicle. Rose? You and Boris will stay in the van and defend and the ladies if necessary. If there are too many for us to defeat, Boris you're to drive Rose and the women to safety."

I gritted my teeth. It was the standard plan in such situations, but if they thought I was going to stay put and leave my man in danger, then they had another thing coming. If push came to shove, and I sincerely hope it _didn't_ , I would be by Dimitri's side, giving it my all. It wasn't just _his_ family out there; I considered them mine now, too.

But there was no point worrying Dimitri and Pavel by announcing that fact. So I nodded in agreement, keeping my plans to myself and hoping I wouldn't need to enact them.

"We're about three minutes away now," Dimitri said, having also switched to English. "We're going to lose phone reception as we have to go through a tunnel. They're not too far on the other side."

I shuddered. I didn't need Dimitri or Pavel to spell it out. One of the first things we learned in Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection was to avoid long tunnels whenever possible when trip planning. They were a notorious hideout for Strigoi, impervious to sunlight during daylight hours. Even older style tunnels had air circulation service rooms and pedestrian emergency exits that were rarely checked. They were the perfect location for Strigoi and were often used as an impromptu den for Strigoi on the move. No one was saying it, but the fact a Strigoi had happened upon Eddie and the Belikova ladies so close to a tunnel was unlikely to be a coincidence, so we could only hope there was not a whole nest of Strigoi based there.

"The tunnel is fairly straight, and traffic is light. I'm going to take it as fast as I can," my Russian God declared.

He said goodbye to Yeva, instructing her to keep ringing the number and we'd answer as soon as we had cell coverage again.

Thankfully there were dual parallel tunnels, one for each direction, so we didn't have to factor in oncoming traffic. Dimitri centered the van between the two lanes, put the high-beams on the car and stepped up the pace even further. We were pretty much low flying through the tunnel. Dimitri and Pavel both paying close attention out the windscreen, the guardians on each side of the vehicle watching the sides for anything unusual.

"Car ahead," Pavel noted tersely, Dimitri grunting in acknowledgment. He immediately dimmed the headlights and moved into the correct lane to overtake the slow-moving vehicle. Once we'd passed, he moved back into the center of the two lanes, switching the lights back onto high beam.

"We're about halfway now," he said after what seemed like about half an hour. It was more like a minute and a half, but this tunnel just seemed to go on forever. But much as I would breathe a sigh of relief when we were through it, I was also terrified at what we might find at the other end.

Ten minutes was a long time fighting a Strigoi, and I could only hope that Eddie was still holding his own. The alternative that Eddie might meet his end on the side of a freeway so far from home was simply too horrific to consider – and that was before I contemplated what might happen to Yeva, Olena and Sonya if Eddie were unsuccessful fending off the Strigoi, or if more had appeared.

"Open door left-hand side," Pavel observed, and turning to the left I had the briefest image of an emergency exit door slightly ajar, lit from within by artificial lighting. It was our most significant sign yet that Strigoi were indeed using this place for shelter and possibly as a base for hunting. I didn't _see_ any others as we thundered past, but I wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing.

"Rose? Do you feel anything?"

One of Abe's Guardians looked at me oddly as I considered Dimitri's question. I knew Dimitri meant my ability to sense when Strigoi were near. I couldn't feel anything right now, and told him so, reluctantly adding that I didn't really know how accurate my feelings were and from how far out I would sense anything. However, I promised if my feelings changed, I'd let him know.

"Alright - get ready, the end of the tunnel is approaching," he warned, his voice tight.

We were all tense, the Guardians unbuckling their safety belts, prepared to spring out of the van as soon as we stopped. Pavel named the Guardians in the back one by one, listing the order in which they'd leave the vehicle by the side sliding door. It was a smart move; even half a second could be the difference between life and death, so by ordering their exit from the vehicle everyone would be ready to spring into action.

I still wasn't happy about being ordered to stay in the van, but hopefully, Dimitri, Pavel, and the three other Guardians would be enough to contain the situation. If not, I'd be out there; orders be damned.

"Here we go," Dimitri said as we exited the tunnel almost at the same time as his cell started ringing. That was a relief. Presumably, if his phone was ringing someone was still alive to ring it! Pavel was pressing connect when Dimitri snapped, "I see them!"

He started rapidly decelerating, and before I knew it, he was crossing the grassy center divide and pulling up behind Olena's old car where it sat on the side of the road, its hazard lights blinking despondently in the gloom. They couldn't have broken down in a more miserable, desolate spot.

"Go go go!" Pavel urged, opening the passenger door and exiting the vehicle almost before the tires had ground to a stop on the gravel of the road shoulder. Beside me, the Guardians exited the van precisely as planned, slamming the door behind them and racing forward towards the defective vehicle, sizing up the situation. But my eyes were trained on the sight in front of me, illuminated by the van's headlights; Eddie leaning against the side of Olena's car, a body at his feet, a stake still grasped in his hand.

My friend was hunched over clutching his abdomen, and I could see his shirt was bloody. His face looked pained, and while I was looking at him, all I could see was Mason's lifeless eyes. I couldn't lose him! I couldn't lose him, too! So before Boris had a chance to react, I'd flung open the sliding door of the van and was running toward Eddie.

"Eddie?" I sobbed as I got close to him. "Are you ok?!"

"Rose! Get back in the vehicle," Dimitri growled. "The area is not yet secure!"

I stopped and felt with my mind.

"We're good – there are no others near," I declared nervously before coming up alongside Eddie.

"I'm ok," he rasped, trying to straighten up a little. "The blood's not mine. It's just a stitch."

"A _stitch?"_

"I ate too much before we left and with the unexpected exercise…"

Eddie's eyes met mine, and we broke out into maniacal laughter, tinged with more than a hint of hysteria. We were still laughing as I drew him into a long hard hug.

"Got yourself another molnija there, Castile!"

"Yeah well – got a few yet 'til I catch up with you," he joked, walking with his arm around my shoulder as we went over to the van.

Olena and Sonya were already seated in the middle row, both looking wide-eyed and shocked. Yeva was sitting in the row in front of them apparently unperturbed, but I noticed the tremor in her hand as she patted Eddie's cheek when he climbed into the van.

"You did a good job. Thank you, Eddison."

Eddie's full name sounded odd coming from her lips. I didn't appreciate she even knew it. Usually, she called him 'the young man.'

"That's my job," he said easily, seating himself in the back row.

Happy to see him settled, I walked back over to where Pavel and Dimitri had their heads under the hood of Olena's vehicle.

"Try it now. If we can get it started and limp it home, we might be able to repair it," Pavel mused.

Dimitri nodded, looking stressed out. He climbed into the vehicle trying to start the engine, but it wasn't going to happen. He wound down the window.

"It's too dangerous to try anything with it tonight. The best we can do is push it off the side of the road and hope it's still here in the morning."

Pavel and Dimitri emptied the car of the various bags and boxes from Olena and Yeva's shopping in Omsk, then pushed the car off the side of the road, partially concealing it behind a large shrub. The other Guardians likewise moved the Strigoi body, hiding it so the sun's first light could take care of it if the Alchemists hadn't got to it first. One of the Guardians pulled out his phone and photographed the corpse from several angles, SMSing the photos to the local Alchemist with the exact GPS location and crediting the kill to 'Novice Eddison Castile.'

"That's new," I commented. Kills were usually called into the closest Alchemist branch and taken care of if needs be. I'd never seen anyone _text_ in a kill.

"A request came out about it a few days back," Pavel explained. "The local Alchemists want us to text them with the GPS and any details. Said it makes it easier to divide up the cases between them and find them and all that. I think they want us to text because the Alchemists don't like to talk to us," he chortled. Thinking back on my own very limited experiences with the Alchemists, I thought he might have a point.

We were soon back in the van, Dimitri explaining to his mother it was safest to leave her vehicle where it was and come back at first light to try and fix it. Olena nodded, knowing that what her son said was right, but I could tell she was worried. While Baia was not a large town, that car represented her family's independence, and I knew there wasn't the money to replace it if it were gone in the morning or couldn't be fixed.

"We're one seat short," Eddie announced as Pavel, Dimitri and I went to get into the van.

"I'll drive, you sit in the back. Rose can sit on your lap," Pavel said to Dimitri with a smile.

Accordingly, Dimitri climbed into the last remaining seat in the back corner, positioning himself before patting his lap invitingly. I sat down, wrapping my arm around his shoulders and giving my tired, worried man a lingering kiss on his temple.

He squeezed me tight before pulling out his phone and placing a quick call to Karolina to let her know all were well and we were on our way back home.

The mood in the van was still tense, so attempting to distract everyone from what could have been, I asked Sonya for a description of everything that had been done at the unit. As anticipated, she had a lot to say.

"Rose it's beautiful! So much better than I'd ever dreamed. The IKEA kitchen is in, and it's _perfect_ in the space. It's so bright, and now the walls have been removed the back area is _huge!_ The breakfast bar is enormous, and I'll be able to prepare food as I watch TV. I can just see spending all day there with the baby. Kirill has put in a huge brand new fridge, cooker and I got to choose appliances from the shop. I didn't want to go overboard, so I just got a kettle and a toaster, so far."

She stopped for about half a second to draw breath before continuing.

"The flooring that Eddie suggested is _perfect._ I originally wanted a darker wood look, but Eddie and Kirill persuaded me to go for a lighter timber, and I am so glad they did! The floors match in beautifully with the timber bench top, and it makes the whole place look so much lighter! The new toilet is in, and they're putting in the new bathroom in the next few days. Kirill chose white subway tiles, and I wasn't thrilled, but when he showed me the picture from the magazine of the look he is going for I loved it."

Olena was smiling as she listened to her daughter's excited rambling. It was a relief to have something pleasant to focus on, and it had the desired effect of helping us all relax a little.

"So what did you choose today?" I asked.

"We chose the wall color. I'm going for a warm off-white throughout. We also took measurements for the windows so I can make drapes. Kirill has ordered roller blinds for privacy, but in winter we'll need to keep the heat in, so Babushka, Mama and I are going to make curtains too," she explained.

I sat on Dimitri's lap, playing with his hair as I half listened to Sonya's excited plans – grateful everything had ended ok, and that she and her family were still alive to see it all through to fruition!

* * *

"Thank God you're alright!" Abe flung the door of the van open looking inside at us all but particularly me.

"We're good, Baba," I reassured him, climbing off Dimitri's lap and out of the van to hug Abe. One by one the Guardians exited the vehicle, collecting Olena and Yeva's packages from the trunk and bringing them inside where a very relieved Meredith, Karolina, and Paul greeted us.

Karolina had hot cups of tea waiting and a spread of food. It wasn't until I saw the meal I appreciated how hungry I was. The uncertainty of going to collect Eddie and the others, and the terror of thinking something might have happened to them, had suppressed my appetite – but now it was back in full force.

I grabbed a plate and was loading it with a bit of everything when my father came over to say goodbye.

"We don't want to impose. We'll leave you to it. Pavel will collect Dimitri at first light to retrieve the car."

"Nonsense. There is plenty of food for you all to stay," Yeva barked, her most recent brush with death apparently making her even more cantankerous than usual.

Dimitri lifted an eyebrow at my father, all but daring him to defy her. Abe shrugged and replied, "Well I'm never one to pass up free food."

He looked a little tired, and I appreciated he probably needed a feeder more than food, but he seemed comfortable enough. The Guardians and Eddie sat out the back, Meredith and Karolina ferrying out platters with food while Paul peppered them with questions about being a Guardian. Inside I was sitting with Pavel, Abe, and Dimitri at the kitchen table.

"In a week you'll be packing to go to St. Basil's, and the week after that you'll be at the elimination fights," Abe said, in a flat voice.

"Yeah. I've been meaning to talk to you about booking flights back to Court."

He nodded, appearing dispirited.

"You can take my plane. I thought if you left on Friday afternoon? If you leave St. Basil's on Thursday morning you can come here to say your farewells and stay a final night then leave for Omsk on Friday? You'll be back at Court late Saturday ahead of your allocation ceremony Monday?"

"I'll check with the others, but that sounds good," I murmured, also feeling despondent. "It will be weird not seeing you every day."

Abe grasped my hand and squeezed it.

"Don't worry. I think I'm going to be spending more time in the States in the future. In fact, I thought I might come for a visit once you know where you'll be allocated."

He looked as sad at the idea of not seeing each other every day as I was. I squeezed his hand in return. I liked the idea of Abe visiting once my future had been decided – I could use his help to face the change.

"So has Mom called you yet?" I asked.

"No. She hasn't. Which reminds me, I think it's time I put this little game of hers to an end."

He plucked his phone from his jacket, scrolling through his contacts until he came to 'J.' Pausing only to look at his watch, he pressed dial.

I was sitting close enough to hear the ringing through the speaker, and then a tinny approximation of my mother's voice.

"Hathaway."

"Hello Janine," Abe said in his most winsome voice. "It's Abe."

"I know who it is," she said archly. "I've been waiting for you to call."

"I thought you were going to call me?"

"Oh, I think we both know that was never going to happen," she said in a decidedly smug tone of voice.

Abe said a word in Turkish that I knew from our lessons in cussing was not particularly nice.

"Twenty years and nothing's changed I see…" he continued.

"Oh, _plenty_ has changed. For starters, we have a daughter."

"Yes. We do," Abe said his eyes meeting mine fondly. "So how are we going to do this? Can we meet civilly when we have to? Or do we divide birthdays and Christmases?"

"Don't be ridiculous. The day she was born has _nothing_ to do with you, and Turks don't celebrate Christmas. I'm her mother – I'm not going to _divide_ anything!"

"Well, you've certainly changed your tune. Last time I saw you were telling our daughter, and the good townsfolk of Sheridan, that you never wanted her and you didn't care where she went."

"Fuck off, Abe," my mother growled. I knew she was embarrassed about the things she'd said in Sheridan, and didn't appreciate Abe reminding her of them. "I love Rosemarie very much, and she knows that."

"Maybe she does, but it wouldn't hurt you to tell her that a bit more often."

My mother said something I couldn't catch before taking a breath and continuing. "So I assume there's a purpose for this call other than harassing me after a long day of work?"

"I'd like us to meet up. To discuss Rose," he said. "When you're ready," he quickly added. "We are her parents, and I've grown very close to our daughter over these last few weeks. She's an adult now, but there's still room in her life for a couple of parents who care about her. I want to put to bed any lingering resentments so we can be the parents she deserves to have without acrimony or tension between the two of us."

"Did you just say 'put to bed?!'" Janine snorted incredulously.

Abe blushed a little. "Poor choice of words," he admitted. "But I mean it, Janine. Rose hasn't had the support of her parents as she deserves. But that changes now. I want us on the same page, or at least not working in opposite directions. What do you say?"

I could hear Mom sigh. She didn't sound particularly eager, but she also knew Abe would get what he wanted, eventually.

"Fine. Let me know when you're next in the States, and if I am available, we can catch up."

"Ok. It's a deal," Abe said with a wicked grin. "I don't have any immediate plans to come to the States, but I'm sure I will soon."

"Soon like I was going to call you soon?" she asked dryly.

"Who knows, Janine. Who knows?" he said with a grin, terminating the call.

Pavel, Dimitri and I hadn't even pretended to be doing anything other than shamelessly eavesdropping. And if Janine had won the first round, this time Abe was undoubtedly the victor.


	50. Chapter 50

"Mama, we got there, and the car was destroyed. Someone had set it on fire, and it was unsalvageable."

Dimitri lowered his head, taking his mother's hand. Olena shrugged putting a good face on it, but I knew she was distressed. Sonya and Karolina were trying to console her in Russian, and Olena was attempting not to cry, but we could all see she wanted to. Without waiting to be asked, Eddie, Meredith and I went outside to give the family their privacy.

"Surely insurance will cover it?" Meredith said.

I snorted. "Meredith, I don't think that thing was registered, much less insured! It was so old; it wouldn't have been worth it."

Eddie nodded, acknowledging what I said. Dimitri had said the vehicle was old when _he_ was a child. Now it was ancient. Scratch that – now it was sitting on the side of the highway, an incinerated relic!

"If only I hadn't pushed it so hard," Eddie moaned, feeling guilty for being at the wheel when the car had failed. "We were so close to getting home…"

"It wasn't that," I said confidently. Last night Dimitri had told me the car had been falling apart for years, and it had been just a matter of time. "They couldn't even get parts for it anymore. It was just bad luck you were driving when it finally died."

Eddie gave me a grateful smile, but I knew he still felt responsible.

The mood was downcast when Dimitri emerged a little later, and we ran to the gym in town. While it only took us a few minutes, no one could expect Yeva, Olena or Karolina to cover the distance as we could. Without a car, simple things like shopping or visiting friends were suddenly going to be that much harder for the family.

Pavel had picked Dimitri up at first light to return to the vehicle to salvage it, so he already knew it was a burnt out shell. He joined us at the gym for our morning session and didn't say anything, but he was somber, too.

"Mind your own business, driving and break down? You get attacked by Strigoi. Out for fun and set a family's car on fire? Not a Strigoi in sight," Dimitri grumbled to himself as he worked out on the gym equipment. Usually, he fitted his workout in between issuing instructions to us, but today he left us to follow our usual regime, taking out his frustration and anger on the gym equipment. No one dared approach him, so when Abe appeared with coffee and pastries for morning tea, I walked over to where my lover was still punishing himself.

"Comrade? Did you want a break?" I asked him, running my hand over his shoulder soothingly. He leaned his head into my hand, letting me stroke his cheek.

"Sure," he grunted. He wasn't super happy, but compared to his mood of this morning, it was a step in the right direction. We drank in silence, Dimitri brooding as he sipped at the coffee Abe had provided. After morning tea, he gestured me over to where he started doing squats and lunges. I could see him thinking things over, so I worked beside him in silence.

"I was thinking, with Sonya probably moving in with Kirill soon, Mama's expenses will be a little less. I'll need to send her a bit more money each month for repayments, but I might be able to get them a cheap vehicle before we go home?"

He looked grim. He already sent so much of his wage to Olena to support the family, and while she'd never expect him to replace the car, we could both see reliable transportation was a necessity.

"Dimitri? In a few weeks, I'll be earning, too. I could help out a little…?"

" _No way!"_ he snapped, with a vehemence I'd not expected. Abe, Pavel, and the others turned to look at us. They were too far away to hear what we'd been discussing, but they'd heard Dimitri shout clearly enough. I gave them a reassuring smile before Dimitri continued in a lower voice. "They're my responsibility, Roza! I love you, but the answer is no."

"But they need a car. I just want to help. They've done so much for me."

"And I love you for it," Dimitri said with a tight smile "but providing for them is my job."

We continued our workout, neither of us saying much. We trained in silence until lunchtime when we ran back to the house as usual. Once we were there, the mood was much more positive. Olena didn't mention the car, nor did anyone else. We ate out the back, the kitchen table occupied with a sewing machine that looked older than Yeva.

"We're getting ready to make the curtains. Babushka has some fabric we can use for the lining, and Miroslava said she has some thick curtaining fabric she doesn't need that I could have. I was going to pick it up today but…" Sonya trailed off after a pointed look from her mother.

We all pretended not to know what she'd been about to say, but I could see Dimitri's shoulders slump a little more. My poor guy looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

* * *

We'd just finished Olena's wonderful meatball soup for dinner when there was a knock at the door. We hadn't been expecting anyone, so Dimitri stood up, checking the position of his stakes, and stalked to the front of the house.

"Hello! Is my daughter home?" Abe boomed in his 'I'm up to something' voice.

"She is. Come inside, Abe. Pavel."

"No, I need her out here. Can you switch on the outside lights?"

Hearing Abe's voice, I pushed my chair back from the table, moving to the front door, the rest of the family in my wake.

"Close your eyes!" Abe demanded, taking my hand and guiding me through the front door and outside. "Open!"

I opened my eyes and very narrowly avoided swearing. There, parked in pride of place in front of the house, was a late model red Toyota Camry with a big jaunty bow on the front of its bonnet.

"I have a business associate who owns a car yard, and he owed me money. I know you have everything else you need, but I thought you might like a car while you're visiting Baia?"

My first reaction was to wonder what the 'associate' had done to owe Abe so much money, and then I turned and scowled at my grinning father, narrowly avoiding slapping him as I pulled him around the corner of the house and out of the sight of the Belikovs.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed. "Olena's car was trashed this morning, and this evening you rock up with a car for me?! She's really upset about her car - how insensitive are you?!"

Abe listened to my tirade, waiting for me to pause and draw breath.

"It's paid for, registered and insured. And it's not like you can take it home with you, _can you?"_

It took me a moment to digest what he'd said.

"You'll be leaving in just over two weeks. You can't take the car with you, so I suppose you'll have to _leave it here…"_

"You bought them a _car?!"_ I hissed, leaning against the side of the house to steady myself.

"No I bought _you_ a car," he replied smugly. "Who you lend it to while you're overseas is your own business," he smirked, looking far too pleased with himself for my liking.

"They'll never accept it," I predicted. The Belikovs might not have a lot of money, but they had their pride.

"Not if I bought it for them," he agreed, "but since I bought it for _you_ there should be no problem!"

"Why do you care so much?"

"They've taken you in as one of their own. I see how happy you are around them - they're the family you always wished you had. That means a great deal to me, and I want to help them where I can."

I looked at my father, and I could see beyond the ruthless façade he showed everyone else. I could see a lonely man who, just like me, enjoyed suddenly finding himself at least peripherally part of a loving family.

"Come on, then. I'd better go take a ride in my new car," I huffed before giving him a huge hug. Walking back around the corner arm in arm with Abe, everyone was standing on the porch admiring my new ride, albeit with slightly forced smiles. Karolina, in particular, looked like she thought the gift was in the worst possible taste given the timing.

"Olena? Sonya, Karolina? Want to come for a spin in my new wheels?" I jovially enquired. Dimitri gave me a troubled look, but I ignored it as I opened the passenger door for Olena, the girls climbing into the back, seating themselves on either side of a brand new infant car seat. That alone should have clued them in. I didn't have an infant...

"I'll just go around the block," I promised, climbing into the driver's seat and putting on my belt. I started the engine, and it was a smooth purr. I wasn't sure how old the car was. It wasn't brand new, but it wasn't far from it. Checking out the dash, it had all the mod cons, which was pleasing.

"Glad _you've_ got a car," Karolina said with only barely contained sarcasm as I put the Camry into drive, checked the headlights were on and set off.

"Yes," I said pretending not to notice her acrimony. "Of course, once I return to America I can't take it with me, so I hope you guys don't mind looking after it? Take it out three or four times a week, so the battery doesn't go flat? It's even got a car seat for Zoya…"

Karolina might have been slow on the uptake, but Olena wasn't.

"We couldn't! Zmey bought this car for you!"

She quickly put her hand over her mouth when she realized she'd called my father by his nickname 'snake.' I laughed. He _was_ as wily as a snake, and today had only further proven it.

"I can't take it with me, Olena. I'd like you to use it while I'm away. You guys need a car; my ridiculously extravagant father has bought me one to use while I'm visiting. You might as well use it until I come back."

"We couldn't accept a gift like that," Olena said firmly. "It wouldn't be right."

"It's not a gift. You'd be looking after it for me," I quickly argued. "Honestly, you'd be doing me a favor. Dimitri and I plan to visit again when we can, and it will be more convenient if we have a car here when we do. It will cost me a fortune to garage it somewhere; you might as well keep it here and use it…"

"Mama! Just say thank you and mind the car!" Sonya snapped.

"Please, Olena? Dimitri worries so much. He was going to take out a loan and buy you a car before we left, but I have this nice one here, and it will just be going to waste…"

Olena threw up her hands in surrender. We were back out the front of the house, so I pulled up with a flourish.

Dimitri's mother and sisters got out of the vehicle, and before I knew it, Dimitri was helping his grandmother into the back seat before sitting himself in the passenger side.

"Finally I get to drive," I chuckled, ignoring my Russian God's reproving expression. He'd never let me drive back at the Academy, much to my annoyance. I did a second trip around the block, listening to Yeva admire everything about the new vehicle. It was the most cheerful I'd seen her in ages! My second trip around the block complete, I pulled up, carefully turning off the lights, putting the car into park and turning off the ignition.

"It drives like a dream, Baba! Thank you!" I enthused, throwing my arms around Abe's neck enthusiastically.

"Abe? Pavel? We were about to have dessert. Would you like to come in for coffee and cake?" Olena asked. She looked at my father shyly. I know she wanted to thank him for his very generous gift, but we were all keeping up the pretense he'd bought the car for my benefit.

Abe nodded, so we all headed back inside, Eddie whispering on the way we were going to make the most of having a set of wheels before we returned to the States.

* * *

"I don't like that he bought them a car," Dimitri complained later that night as we were getting ready for bed. "They're my family so my responsibility. I don't want you having to help me provide for them, and I certainly don't want your father to do it!"

"Abe bought _me_ a car, Comrade," I said, using my father's specious logic.

"We're going back to the States in a fortnight!" he growled. "You don't _need_ a car!"

"Then it's just as well your Mama doesn't mind looking after it for me while I'm away, isn't it?" I asked giving him my sweetest smile. "Please just let it go. He cares for your family, and he appreciates how good they've been to me. He just wants to help, and he knew they'd never accept a gift like that which is my he gave it to me."

"He can't buy you their affection!" he hissed.

I recoiled like I'd been slapped, my eyes widening in shock. Is that what he thought? That his family only liked me because Abe was helping them financially?

"That's not what I meant," Dimitri groaned, taking in my stricken face. "Rose? Roza? My family _adore_ s you; you know that. But they love you for you, not for anything Abe does. They admire your spirit and loyalty and how you always see the best in people and how you're so generous and giving…"

"Good! Then let me give them my car to mind," I snapped, climbing into bed and turning my back on him. "It's done. He's bought it, and short of selling it and hurting his feelings there's nothing else to be done about it!"

"Alright, it's a good idea for Mama and the girls to mind the car," he conceded, lifting the quilt and getting into bed beside me. "Come on ангел. I didn't mean it to come out like that. I meant my family already love you; he doesn't need to throw his money around…"

I humphed but didn't push him away when he rolled up hard against me, draping his arm around my waist, and I might have even smiled a little when he pushed my hair from my neck, softly kissing that special spot behind my ear and nuzzling in my long dark locks.

* * *

"I can't decide which shoes to wear," Lissa wailed, angling the screen on her phone down to show me the two different shoes she was wearing, one on each foot.

"Maybe wait 'til your dress is on and then decide?" I suggested, munching on some carrot sticks as I was flopped on my stomach on Dimitri's bed. The others were out, Dimitri having taken them on a run, but I'd begged off, knowing Lissa was going to want help getting ready for her graduation dance, even if it was by Skype because I was on the other side of the globe!

"I want tonight to be perfect," she sighed, pulling off both shoes and repositioning her phone on her dressing table as she undid the clip that had held her hair during this afternoon's graduation ceremony, brushing out her long blonde tresses in preparation for styling it for tonight's graduation dance.

"While the people here are nice, and I've made some new friends, it isn't the same as being at St. Vlad's. It was odd not having any Novices graduate."

I quietly wondered how different it was, from her perspective. She'd hung out a lot with the Royal Moroi crowd, and the majority of them had gone to Court as well when the Academy closed. Sure there were a few faces missing, but other than myself and the Novices, most of her group graduated with her today and would be at the dance tonight.

"Do you know what everyone else is wearing?" I asked, preparing myself for an hour of chatter about Camille, Carly and the rest of the group Lissa sort of hung out with. And I wasn't disappointed. In the space of thirty minutes, I heard how Camille had warned Lissa off wearing purple as she'd decided she wanted to wear it and didn't want anyone else to, and how Carly had had to buy a new dress when she'd discovered another girl was planning to wear the exact same style.

I'd only just started confiding my own dress fears to Lissa when there was a knock at the door at Lissa's end, and Tasha entered offering to help her get ready. For a moment or two, Tasha didn't know Lissa was Skyping me, so I was able to watch her unobserved.

Her interactions with Lissa seemed unforced and natural. Apparently, she really did like and approve of Lissa – but then she had no reason not to. The last Dragomir was a catch in anyone's language, and anyone with eyes could see how good Lissa was for Christian and how much he cared for her.

Tasha looked much the way she had when I last saw her, although I noticed she made less of an attempt to dress up or conceal her scars when Dimitri was not around. Nonetheless, with her jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes, she was still a striking woman.

"I'm Skyping Rose," Lissa said brightly, gesturing to her phone after filling Tasha in on the shoe dilemma. I had to laugh when Tasha suggested the same as me – waiting until the dress was on to make the final decision. Getting out Lissa's hair products, Tasha stood behind Lissa, the two of them talking to me as Tasha started to set Lissa's hair into the long, loose curls she'd decided on for tonight's hairstyle.

"I'll probably wear one side pinned back. What do you think Rose?" Lissa asked as she held the hair on one side back, approximating the style.

"I like that. It's a different look for you. Feminine but sophisticated."

Lissa beamed. I could feel through the bond she was nervous about tonight. She was secretly hopeful Christian might propose, although in her heart of hearts she knew he probably wasn't quite ready, yet. In any case, she considered this her 'coming out' of sorts and intended to look the part.

"So Rose? You must be graduating soon, too?" Tasha asked casually as she wielded the curling iron in Lissa's hair.

"Next Saturday," I replied in what I hoped passed for a friendly voice. "We've got our trials on Friday, graduation Saturday and then the elimination fights start on Monday and run through until Wednesday."

"Have you booked your flights back, yet?" Lissa quizzed.

"Yeah, Abe is sending us back in his plane Friday. We'll be back Saturday night ready for allocations on Monday."

"You must be looking forward to coming home?" Tasha asked.

"Yes and no. I've loved Russia. We all have. But I'll be pleased to get allocated and start working, so I suppose it's time to move on."

Tasha smiled at the small screen on the dresser in front of her, but then her face changed.

"Rose? Is that Dimitri's room you're in?" she asked sharply.

I hadn't thought about it when I'd starting Skyping, but sure enough behind me was Dimitri's bookshelf stuffed with the Westerns he was so fond of.

"Yeah. He went out, Sonya has some friends visiting, and Meredith is asleep in our room, so he said I could use his room to call," I quickly fabricated. I wasn't sure whether Tasha believed me, but she didn't pursue it any further, and I quickly steered the conversation to Sonya and her blossoming relationship with Kirill.

Half an hour later Lissa's hair was ready, and she slipped on her gorgeous jade green gown. Tasha and I agreed the gold strappy heels were definitely the pick with her dress, and after that it was time for her to finish getting ready. Wishing her much love and success for the evening, I terminated our video call, promising to catch up in the next day or two for all the gossip from the function.

And then I lay back on Dimitri's bed, tears welling in my eyes, as I wondered how in hell Tasha Ozera was able to recognize my man's bedroom so readily?

* * *

A/N If you'd like to see Meredith and Rose's dresses for the Graduation Ball, check out my Facebook Page:

www facebook com / swimmingthesamedeepwaters


	51. Chapter 51

The first book only narrowly missed Dimitri's face as I hurled it at him, hitting the wall with a rather satisfying thunk. The second would have been a direct dead-center hit if it hadn't been for his lightning-fast reflexes.

"Roza! Don't! Ivan gave me those books – they're precious!"

I wanted to throw them at him. All of them. I was so angry and hurt right now I wanted to upend the whole freaking bookshelf over his head.

"You told me I was the first woman you'd shown around Baia. I thought I was the first one to share this bed with you!" I snarled, a good way beyond absolutely furious.

"You are! Rose, why are you doubting me? What's brought this on?"

Dimitri was standing warily beside the bed, eyeing me carefully as I let the third book flop from my hand to lie impotently on the quilt. Deciding he was safe from further assault, at least for the moment, Dimitri approached carefully, sitting on the edge of the mattress and looking at me.

"Tasha Ozera," I snarled.

"Tasha?" Dimitri asked in confusion, and even the sound of her name on his lips pissed me off.

"I was lying here Skyping with Lissa and Tasha came into her room. Tasha was helping Lissa do her hair for her graduation dance, and we were all talking. Then Tasha looked at the screen and recognized where I was lying. She asked me why I was lying on the bed in your bedroom. _How does she know what your bedroom looks like if I'm the first woman you've fucked here?!"_ I was shouting by the time I got to the last bit, and I was sure the entire house had heard me.

Dimitri tensed before snapping in reply. "Keep your voice down! I haven't _fucked_ anyone here. I've made love to the woman I care for deeply, and you are, and will remain, the only woman to be intimate with me here."

I tossed my head dismissively.

"Then how come scarface knows what your room looks like?" I challenged, daring him to come up with an excuse.

"Don't call her that," he said wearily. "She knows what it looks like because she's been here. To the house I mean," he said, as though it were obvious.

"Tasha's been here? You brought her to your house? So what – you didn't fuck here? Was it in Meredith's room?!"

"Roza! I've never slept with Tasha, and she didn't even stay here. Can I explain?"

"Oh, I'd talk real fast, cowboy," I threatened.

Kicking his shoes and socks off, and peeling off his sweaty workout shirt Dimitri sat higher up the bed, leaning against the bed head. I glowered at him. He better not be trying to distract me with his sexy, shirtless chest.

"I think I've told you that I've known Tasha for years? A year or so before Ivan died, we were at a house party, and I ran into her again. It wasn't planned or anything. Ivan had intended to stay the weekend, but the party was lame, so he wanted to travel back to Omsk and then fly to St. Petersburg. Tasha wanted to leave the party, too, and since she didn't have a Guardian or transport, she asked if she could catch a ride to Omsk with us."

My Russian God paused to check I was following, and that I wasn't at imminent risk of exploding. Apparently reassured by my beady-eyed attentive look, he continued.

"We were driving, and could probably have pushed through to Omsk, but it was late in the afternoon as we were approaching the turnoff to Baia. I hadn't seen my family in months, and we weren't in any hurry to get to Omsk. Ivan suggested we spend a night or two in Baia so I could see Mama and the girls. Tasha said she didn't mind, and so I brought Ivan home for the weekend. Tasha didn't want to put Mama out by staying here, so she slept at the hotel for the two nights, but she came over here for dinner both nights."

"So how did a casual acquaintance over for dinner become so familiar with your bedroom?" I snapped, sensing there was more to this than had yet been revealed. "Did you make out with her here?"

There was a flicker in Dimitri's eyes, and I recognized I'd stumbled on the truth.

"You made out with her in the place where we sleep?!"

"Not _me,"_ Dimitri said with an exasperated sigh. "Ivan!"

"Ivan was with Tasha?"

"Not really. Mama doesn't like to see people drink, so we hung out up here, and they were relaxing and drinking vodka. Tasha was flirting with Ivan. One thing led to another, and they started kissing. It was only for a few minutes, then Mama called out dinner was ready, and we went downstairs. Later on, I drove Tasha back to her hotel, and the next morning we left and drove to Omsk."

"So Tasha _has_ been in your bedroom?"

"Yes. But not like _that!"_

"Damned right," I snapped, pushing Dimitri back against the bedhead as I straddled his lap, feeling much happier. I was about to kiss him when he pushed me back from him slightly.

"Did you really think I wouldn't be honest with you about my past?" he asked, sounding hurt. "I would never lie to you about something like that."

"No… I just get a little crazy when Tasha's involved," I whispered, looking down in embarrassment. I'd completely overreacted.

"What was that? I didn't hear you?" Dimitri teased.

"Shut up and kiss me if you know what's good for you, Comrade" I growled, rocking my hips hard against his, and pushing him back against the headboard before I smashed my lips against his.

* * *

"I want to see Dimitri and Rose fight!"

It was Kirill suggesting it, and I could have killed him! He'd arrived, unannounced, at the fight late this afternoon, much to Sonya's delight. I'd fought, and beat, all six competitors in our final Saturday night fights, and now I was looking forward to indulging in some beer, food, and conversation.

"I think that's a wonderful idea!" Abe enthused, looking at me encouragingly.

"Kick his ass, Rose!" Viktoria called out from where she was sitting on a gym mat, catching her breath after her own battles.

I growled. It would hardly be a fair fight – Dimitri would be going in fresh, and I'd already defeated six skilled Dhampir fighters. But I was in a great mood; Raisa had been my second opponent, and I'd laid her on her ass in under a minute. She'd left almost straight afterward, and I'd been grinning the whole time since!

My eyes traveled to Dimitri's, and he lifted an eyebrow in silent challenge. I rolled my eyes and shrugged. It had been a week or so since we'd fought, and I always enjoyed it. I was game if he was.

"Yeah alright. Give me ten minutes, and you're on," I laughed.

The group clapped and cheered as I went across to grab a water bottle, Dimitri coming up behind me and slipping his arms around my waist.

"I'm all sweaty," I warned.

"I don't care," he said, dropping a kiss behind my ear in the spot that always made me go weak at the knees.

"No psyching out the competition, Belikov," Abe said with a grin as he walked up to us.

"It's alright, Baba – two can play that game," I giggled, wiggling my ass against Dimitri's crotch. He hissed under his breath and moved out of range. Most fathers would have pitched a fit seeing that, but not Abe. He just gave me a saucy wink!

"I arranged the plane for you four today," he announced. "This time in a fortnight you'll be almost back home."

"Our other home," I clarified. "Baia is home now, too."

Dimitri spun me in his arms, cupping my chin and lifting my lips to his.

"I love hearing you say that," he crooned before kissing me sweetly in an atypical display of public tenderness. "Now let's fight!"

I smiled and downed the rest of my water bottle, following him to the sparring square in the center of the gym. There was jeering and catcalling from those assembled as Dimitri and I faced off against one another, preparing to give them a good showing.

"Would you like some music?" Dimitri checked.

"Why not?" I laughed. Despite being tired, I was ready for this.

He gestured to Vika who somehow got what he meant, attaching a phone to the speaker system, cranking some dance music.

"You sure you can fight to this, oldtimer?" I teased.

Dimitri rolled his eyes at my irreverent comment, waiting for Pavel to count us in.

As soon as Pavel said the word, Dimitri went on the offensive, trying to catch me off guard. Typically we'd circle each other for ages before one of us, usually me, made the first move. This time he came charging toward me, six foot seven inches of sexy Russian man. He was just about to collect me when I stepped to one side, teaming my evasion with a swift kick to the abs. Dimitri turned and missed the worst of it, but his grunt told me he hadn't avoided it all.

Before I had a chance to congratulate myself, he'd retaliated with a blow to my shoulder. I hadn't seen it coming and it hurt like a bitch. Annoyed with myself for letting him get in such a good hit, I spun and kicked out at his torso again catching him as much by surprise as he had me.

We both retreated a little, me rolling my shoulder to assess the damage. It was stiff and would bruise, but nothing was broken.

I faked a lunge to one side, but Dimitri knew what I was up to so protected his other side. Retreating to circle again I waited until he started to make a move before I lept into the air, booting him in his shoulder. It connected with a crunch.

Ha! See how you like that!

The fighting now stepping up a notch, Dimitri was using his greater reach against me. Usually my speed made up for it, but this was fight seven in the last two hours, so I was slow. Knowing I couldn't take too many direct hits, I flitted away from him, getting him to chase me a little. He had a good seventy pounds on me, so it took me less energy to move around than it did him. Still – I was already tired, and the longer this went on, the more inevitable the outcome – so I decided to give it my all and try and finish the fight as quickly as possible.

The decision made, I let him grab me, angling myself so I could flip him over my hip and onto the mat. The maneuver worked perfectly; however, my Russian God caught me as he fell, pulling me down with him.

I landed on top of him, and was pleased to note I'd slightly winded him – but it was a shortlived victory. On the floor, Dimitri was a lot stronger than me, so it would be a battle to win. He tried to pin me, but I bucked upward with my hips in a move that in the privacy of our bedroom might have been quite enjoyable! But here on the gym floor in front of our family and Dhampir associates, it moved Dimitri enough I was able to flip him onto his back. I was straddling him, trying to secure his dominant hand so I could deliver the fatal blow, but he rolled sideways, and I wasn't strong enough to avoid being rolled with him.

We ended up tumbling several times on the mat, falling off the edge with a small thump. Using the distraction to raise myself up I smacked my hand over Dimitri's heart – at precisely the same time he did it to me. We looked at each other panting in exertion before we both lifted our eyes to Pavel who had been adjudicating.

"Hate to say it, but it's a draw!" he announced to the crowd.

"Aww," a couple of Dhampir groaned, handing money to a happy looking dark-haired Guardian Eddie had fought earlier. I laughed, leaning back down to kiss my man.

"Get a room you two!" Vika laughed, coming over to stand beside us, holding a couple of glasses of beer.

I stood up, offering my hand to Dimitri to do likewise.

"Good fight, baby," he said, giving me another kiss before taking one of the beers from Viktoria while I took the other. Downing the drinks we headed across to where the food was laid out. I was done for the night and ready to eat!

A couple of hours later I was so full I could barely move. I was sitting next to Dimitri chatting, but I was tired and it was time to go home. Olena had taken the car back earlier with Babushka, Karolina, Zoya, and Paul, so Eddie, Meredith, Sonya, Kirill, Viktoria, Dimitri and I bid the last of the revelers at the gym goodnight, leaving them to help Abe's Guardians with the cleanup and more importantly finishing the last of the beer.

"Rose? You know I can't drink at the moment. Kirill asked if he can walk me home, can I borrow your car to drop him home afterward?"

Kirill's house wasn't too far from the Belikov's, but the Strigoi I'd killed so close to town had people spooked, so everyone was being a bit more careful about being out alone at night.

"No worries. Any reason Kirill showed up tonight? I didn't think you were meant to see him for another week or so?"

"He didn't say," she replied with a very pretty blush before going to stand with Kirill, letting him take her hand in his.

I had my own suspicions about Kirill's impromptu appearance, and I think Dimitri shared them because when the six of us set off to walk back to the Belikovs' house, Eddie, Meredith, Viktoria, Dimitri and I walked behind the young couple, just out of earshot. We were nearly home when the two stopped, Sonya throwing her arms around Kirill's neck before the two shared a long sweet kiss.

The rest of us stood awkwardly a few yards behind them, waiting for them to resume their walk. Finally back at the house, Sonya let them inside, the rest of us following. Paul and Zoya were in bed, but the adults were still up, despite the relatively late hour.

"Olena, Dimitri?" Kirill said nervously once we had all made it through to the living room. "Tonight I asked Sonya if she would be my wife, and she said yes. I'd like permission for my mother, sister and I to call on you before Church tomorrow morning."

Sonya was holding Kirill's hand with a huge smile on her face, which was quickly matched by Olena's grin.

"Oh that's _wonderful!"_ she enthused. "You're very welcome to call on us, Kirill," she said, giving the embarrassed young man a hug and a kiss on the cheek before sweeping her second youngest up in a big hug.

The happy couple was duly congratulated by everyone, Viktoria using the opportunity to offer her services as a bridesmaid.

"Give her a chance to catch her breath," Karolina chided. "She's only just said yes… Besides – as the eldest, if there's a bridesmaid it should be me!"

We all laughed, basking in the couple's happiness. Dimitri came to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind as we listened to the family's happy banter. And for the first time since Yeva had predicted our union, I could kind of visualize Dimitri and me in the position of announcing our engagement. Not for a long time yet – but the idea didn't frighten me the way it had a few weeks ago.

"They look so happy," I murmured.

"They do," he agreed, dropping a loving kiss on the shoulder he'd hit earlier. "Just as well Mama bought that clock."

Saying our goodnights, I let Dimitri lead me upstairs to bed. I undressed and climbed in beside him, my body curled against his as together we drifted off to sleep. It was a strange night - I had vivid dreams about Dimitri standing by my side as we announced our engagement.

* * *

"Wake up ангел," Dimitri crooned on Sunday morning, waving a cup of coffee under my nose. I didn't usually drink the stuff, but I was tired and sore and it _had_ been a late night.

"What time is it?" I groaned.

"Quarter past eight, but Kirill and his family are going to be here, soon. Mama and Babushka have been up since dawn cleaning up the house and baking."

I sat up in bed, and I could detect the unmistakable smell of cookies. My stomach grumbled in response.

"Meredith's helping Sonya get ready. Mama sent me upstairs to change – apparently she wants us all looking our best today."

I thought Dimitri looked hot as hell in the dark jeans and TShirt he was wearing but didn't object when he stripped off, putting on a white button-up and topping it with a lightweight sweater.

"So how's today going to run?"

"Kirill and his family will come over before Church and present Sonya with a ring, and that's when Kirril will officially ask her. We'll all walk to Church together and Sonya will wear the ring. The priest will announce their engagement at the end of the service and then they'll receive congratulations from everyone. Then after Church, Kirill and his family will come back here for lunch."

"Should I call Baba and put him off this week?" It was our last Sunday lunch here, and I'd feel bad about it, but I knew he'd understand.

"No. Mama's got it all organized. But you might want to suggest he pick up a bunch of flowers for Sonya or something like that before he comes over. We'll be giving them their engagement present at lunch, so a small gesture would be nice."

I reached for my cell, quickly messaging Abe.

 _Sonya and Kirill got engaged! His family is joining us for lunch today. If you can, pick up a bunch of flowers or a small gift for them. R_

I didn't expect Abe to be up so early, but almost immediately my phone pinged indicating a text.

 _Of course. Are you sure you wouldn't prefer a family lunch? I can drop by later in the afternoon?_

I rolled my eyes as my fingers tapped out my reply.

 _You ARE family. See you and Pavel at one._

Downing my coffee I flicked through my limited selection of dresses, choosing a feminine pretty one I hadn't worn to Church yet and teaming it with a matching light cardigan.

"Does this look ok?" I checked with Dimitri. I didn't want to get sent back upstairs to change by Olena!

"You look beautiful," Dimitri said, grabbing me for a quick kiss.

"Dimitri? What's taking you so long? Mama wants you to help Eddie lift the sofa so she can vacuum under it… Again…!"

It was Karolina's voice.

"Duty calls," he laughed. "See you downstairs in a minute!"

I smacked him on his ass as he left our bedroom. I took my time putting my hair up in a French twist, pinning it in place before adding some subtle makeup. It was Sonya's day to shine, and I didn't want to try and outdo her, but presumably the whole family would be in the spotlight today, so I wanted to look pretty. Figuring I could put it off no longer, I opened the door and headed straight to Sonya's room.

"Perfect timing," Meredith said when she saw me. "Sonya doesn't want to wear the dress she bought as she thinks it makes her look too pregnant."

Sonya stood before me in the dress, and I had to admit, it did emphasize her bump. I pulled off the cardigan I was wearing.

"Try it with this."

The cardigan worked! It was loose enough that even though she was wearing it undone, it took the focus away from her bump. Sure you could still tell she was pregnant if you looked closely, and it wasn't exactly a secret, but I understood why she didn't want the baby to be the focus today!

"That's so much better!" Sonya wailed in relief, pulling me into a quick hug. Declaring herself ready, we all went downstairs to find the usually tidy home immaculate. Every surface was gleaming, and Paul and Eddie were finishing off washing the windows under Yeva's eagle eye; Eddie doing the top panes while Paul did the ones lower down.

"Morning! What can I do?" I asked.

"Nothing. We're all ready!" Olena declared, coming out of the kitchen with a platter of biscuits and a glorious smile. She was wearing a pale lavender dress and she looked gorgeous.

"You timed that well, Hathaway," Eddie mumbled under his breath. By the looks of it, Yeva had been working him hard all morning.

"You look beautiful, Olena," I said hugging her, and poking my tongue out at Eddie over her shoulder.

I helped Olena bring cake and other refreshments out to the living room, and right on nine, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Olena announced, walking to the entryway and showing Kirill, his mother Rada and his sister Darya into the house, performing the necessary introductions.

"And this Darya's boy, Anatoly," Kirill said fondly, rocking an infant in his arms.

"Oh he's very handsome," I complimented Darya.

"Here you hold him," Kirill said, handing him to me before I could object. I'd held Zoya a few times since I'd been here, but she was basically a toddler. Anatoly was much smaller. I rocked him awkwardly, hoping he wouldn't open his eyes and realize a complete noob was holding him.

"You look beautiful holding a baby," Dimitri whispered huskily so no one else could hear him. There was a softness in his eyes I'd never seen before. "It suits you."


	52. Chapter 52

The Church service had been as expected. Sonya's family walking in alongside Kirill's had given most people an indication of what was happening, the Priest's blessing just confirming it. However, the good wishes for the happy couple after the service were genuine, and while Kirill proudly showed off his bride to be, Sonya was showing off the modest amethyst ring he'd given her.

And if Sonya had been in her element, Olena hadn't been far behind.

"Your Mama looks happy," I muttered to Dimitri as we stood off to the side as the young couple chatted with their well-wishers.

"Mama wasn't married to my father, so I think she's always kind of hoped one of us might wed." He didn't say she was still hoping that he and I would tie the knot, but I knew she was.

"Is she going to become the wedding planner from hell?" I joked.

"I doubt it. Although Russian weddings traditionally go for two days... It's a shame we won't be here for it."

It was the first time he'd mentioned not being around for the wedding, but we had tickets home in nine days – and there's no way we'd be able to afford the time to come back to Russia in the next few months – especially since I'd be new to an allocation and without any leave owning.

"I think they'll do something small," he consoled. "They want to wed before the baby is here, so it will probably be a service here at the Church then the Department of Public Services then back to Mama's house for the reception."

"And then Sonya will move to Omsk?"

"I guess so. Although, she'll probably come back here to have the baby. She'll want to be near Mama."

It made sense. Olena was close with her girls, and it stood to reason Sonya would want to be near her mother when she became a mother herself. Out of the blue, I pictured myself pregnant and tried to imagine Janine supporting me. The thought had me chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Dimitri asked.

"Just picturing my mother's version of 'supportive' if I was pregnant or a new mother!"

Dimitri may have been surprised by the direction of my thoughts, but he still smirked.

"Maybe Mama can fly over if that time ever comes," he suggested, dropping a kiss into my hair.

I smiled and nodded. If Yeva's vision did come true and one day I'd be pregnant with Dimitri's baby, I'd much prefer his mother around me than my own.

"Speaking of Mom, I should call her and let her know the plane home has been booked. And I should make a time to see her so I can tell her about us."

Dimitri's head shot up.

"Do we have to? Couldn't we just give it a few months and then tell her?"

Classic! Dimitri was frightened of my five foot nothing mother!

"Once Lissa knows, I have to tell Mom. It's too risky she'll find out from someone else, and you'll know she'll go ballistic if that happens."

"What are you going to tell her exactly? Everything?"

"Oh _hell_ no! I'm going to tell we started to like each other in Baia, that it's all very new and casual, and we're just seeing where things go and keeping it low key."

"She's not going to like it," he predicted.

"No, she won't," I agreed.

"Did you want to tell her together?" he asked nervously.

"No. I think it will be safer for everyone if I talk to her alone. Preferably somewhere out of earshot of anyone else and when she doesn't have her stakes on her." I was joking. Mostly.

After telling Lissa, I was dreading telling my mother about Dimitri and me. She wasn't stupid, and she'd know things had been going on for a lot longer than I'd say. Still, I was eighteen now, and by the time I told her I'd be allocated, so there'd not be a lot she could do about it.

Putting that aside as an issue for another day, I cuddled into my man. The group sounding Sonya and Kirill was lessening, and soon it was time to walk back to the house. The Belikova's were busy getting everything ready for lunch, so Dimitri and I offered to run Viktoria to the train station for the midday train back to St. Basil's.

"What day are you arriving?" she asked us as we waited for the train to pull up.

"Thursday. We'll be arriving around 3 pm. Trials are on Friday and then graduation Saturday. Mama and everyone are coming up with Abe on Saturday morning and are going back after graduation in the afternoon," Dimitri replied.

"I can't wait to show you St. Basil's!" Viktoria enthused.

"I can't wait to see it! It's going to be weird only seeing the school I'm going to graduate from two days before graduation."

"Do you miss St. Vlad's?" she asked.

"I do. It wasn't just my school; it's where I grew up," I explained.

"Well, you'll be able to see some of your classmates. There's a few who will be graduating," she reminded me.

"Yeah! That's going to be cool. And of course, there's Elizaveta and Artyom," I grinned. "If you see them, don't tell them I'm coming!"

"I won't," Viktoria promised grabbing her backpack and walking into the station. "See you all on Thursday!"

Back at home Olena and Karolina were putting the finishing touches on the most extensive Sunday lunch yet. As well as Sonya's engagement luncheon, today was our last Sunday lunch in Baia, so Olena was pulling out all the stops. Right on one Abe Pavel arrived, Kirill and his family on his heels.

The introductions were made, and I had to stop myself outright laughing when I noticed Rada and Darya's reaction to being in the same room as the famous, or rather infamous, Abe Mazur. It probably didn't help that he was handing over his usual ill-gotten gifts, including the most enormous smoked ham I had ever seen as well as several large blocks of gourmet imported cheese that Yeva quickly spirited off into the kitchen.

Noticing how uneasy Kirill's family were, Olena seated them at one end of the table and Abe and Pavel at the other. While the food was plentiful, so were the prayers. Olena had many thanks to give for Eddie's wellbeing after the car broke down, Sonya's engagement and the opportunity for family and friends to share such an important meal together. She then went on to pray for our success in the upcoming trials and graduation. The prayers finally complete, we enjoyed the lunch.

Before long everyone was chatting easily. Abe was being his most charming, putting Rada and Darya more at ease. The conversation turned to Sonya and Kirill's wedding, and Dimitri explained the date would be set by when the registrar was available, but it would be at least a month away. As Dimitri had anticipated, they wanted a small wedding with family and friends, after which Sonya would move to Omsk.

"You'll have to tell us if there's anything you want from the States," I offered, acknowledging that we wouldn't be here for their big day so we'd be sending a gift.

"Really?" Sonya replied brightly. "I'll have a think about it. Thanks!"

"Speaking of presents," Dimitri said formally, standing up. "Why don't we move through to the living room? We have some engagement gifts to give you."

Sonya and Kirill sat on the center sofa. There wasn't enough room for everyone to surround them, so we pulled in some of the dining chairs. Sonya was almost bouncing in her seat she was so excited. Dimitri started by presenting them with the wrapped parcel that contained the clock Olena had bought on our behalf in Omsk. I was relieved to see it was very simple and looked expensive. She'd chosen well.

"That's perfect for the skinny wall near the fridge in the back room," Sonya declared, giving her brother and then me a hug. Kirill shook Dimitri's hand and gave me an appreciative nod. Next Karolina presented the couple with a decanter, Olena presenting them with matching glasses on behalf of Yeva, Viktoria and herself. Rada and Darya had some handmade kitchen linens for the couple, and even Eddie and Meredith got in on the act, presenting them with a pretty vase.

"Olena picked it up for us in Omsk," Meredith whispered when I gave her a 'when did you get that?' look.

Finally, Pavel disappeared from the room, returning with a pretty bunch of flowers. Passing them to Abe, he presented the bouquet to Sonya with an equally floral speech wishing the couple his best wishes. Then he handed Kirill an envelope. The young groom to be went to open it, only to be stopped by Abe.

"If a man owes you money, you open the envelope and count it in front of him. If he's giving you money, you open it later," he counseled him quietly. Kirill nodded, carefully putting the envelope into his pants pocket, shaking Abe's hand.

Before we knew it, Abe and Pavel had left, Kirill's family leaving not long after. Sonya and Kirill disappeared upstairs to her room, Olena instructing Dimitri that now his sister was engaged it was alright for her to be in her room alone with Kirill with the door _closed._ The rest of us were cleaning up after lunch, listening to Yeva's descriptions of traditional Russian weddings, including the two days of drinking involved.

I was sitting next to Dimitri watching a film later when Sonya slipped down the stairs.

"Rose? Have you got a moment?" she asked.

"Sure," I replied, standing up and following her from the room.

We went upstairs to her bedroom where Kirill was sitting on her bed.

"Um, Rose? I think your Dad might have made a mistake. The envelope he gave Kirill had a lot of money in it."

"How much money?" I asked curiously.

"Sixty thousand rubles," he replied, his eyes wide.

"What's that in American money?" I checked.

"About a thousand dollars, I think," Sonya said looking troubled. "Can you check with him? It's a lot of money, and if it's a mistake, we wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of your father."

I smiled, pulling my phone from my pocket.

"Baba? How much did you give Kirill and Sonya for their engagement?"

"Sixty thousand rubles."

"That's a lot of money, Baba. I'm sure they appreciate it, but they might think that they owe you, now."

"Owe me? Not at all. Tell them to spend it on a crib. I've heard they're expensive!"

"Not sixty thousand rubles sort of expensive," I countered.

"Wouldn't know – I'm a bachelor and missed that time in your life," he teased. "Tell them to spend it with my blessing."

"Shall do, and thank you, Baba. They appreciate it, and so do I."

I shrugged.

"He said to spend it on a crib – that they're expensive."

"But sixty thousand rubles?" Kirill spluttered.

"Trust me; it's nothing to him. But if you want my advice, don't tell your Mama or Dimitri how much it was. Just say that he was generous and it will help with some of the costs of furnishing the new unit."

"Looks like we can afford those new sofas from IKEA after all," Kirill told a beaming Sonya.

* * *

"Is it really necessary that we _all_ go?" I grumbled on Wednesday just before lunch. I'd endured a quick hose down in the dilapidated unisex open shower at the gym after my workout, Dimitri standing outside the door to ensure my modesty. Not long after, Yeva, Olena, Karolina, and Sonya had arrived at the gym with my shoes and underwear, and we were now walking to my final fitting at Miroslava's with Meredith, Abe, and Pavel in tow.

"Stop complaining," Yeva ordered. "It is time for you to flower and we all wish to see it!"

"Yes _'Your buds are going to bloom'_ " Sonya mocked in imitation of Miroslava's thick accent, pointing to my breasts.

Meredith snorted with laughter.

"Hey, at least you get to show yours off. Apparently, I show mine off too often!" I growled. It was bad enough I was going to have the beige dress of horror revealed; I could do without an audience!

"It will be fine," Olena soothed, noticing me getting riled up and telling Sonya off in Russian. "I'm sure you will look beautiful!"

"Why are you here, old man? You'll get to see it on the night!"

Because Abe was going to be on campus, he'd be joining the other parents at the Graduation Ball.

"I'm just here with my checkbook," Abe grinned.

"Why are you here, then?" I asked Sonya.

"I had to come thank Miroslava for the curtain fabric," she admitted. "I figured there was safety in numbers."

I humphed at them all, stomping down the road to Miroslava's studio. Climbing the stairs, I found the dressmaker waiting for us.

"Come in, Roza," she said using the Russian version of my name. "Go and get changed into your underwear. I'll bring your dress over in a moment."

She gestured me over to the change room which was a large curtain of fabric suspended from the ceiling hiding that part of the workshop from the rest of the space. I slipped behind the drapery, grateful that apparently, I wouldn't be parading in front of Pavel and my father in my underwear.

"Put your shoes on," she instructed through the curtain before she continued chatting with the others in Russian. After about ten minutes, and moments before I was going to storm out there in my underwear and ask what the hold up was, Miroslava announced she was coming in. Sure enough, she appeared around the edge of the curtain, holding out an opened dress in front of her. The zipper was long and completely open, so all I could see was boring beige lining.

"Step in when I say then keep your eyes on the curtain," she ordered in a voice that brooked no refusal. "Mirror is outside, you see it then."

Getting crankier by the second I did as I was bid, stepping into the creation carefully, letting her pull it up over my hips then putting my arms through the armholes when bidden. I felt the dress tighten as she did up the zip. It was tight, very tight, but it fit.

"Stand back," she ordered, looking at me critically before asking me to spin one way and then the other. She reached for a stool, standing on it to fix my hair in an upstyle. "You should wear your hair up like this," she declared.

Stepping down from the stool, she gave me a final look.

"It is done. You are ready."

She motioned me out in front of her, and I walked as confidently as I could to stand in front of the Belikovas, Abe, Pavel, and Meredith.

"Holy shit!" Meredith said, her eyes bulging.

"Oh, Rose!" Olena gasped, putting her hand to her mouth.

Everyone looked stunned, and I couldn't get a read on what they were thinking.

"Where's the mirror?" I growled.

Abe stepped forward, his eyes misty. He held out his arm for me to loop mine through before walking me to one side of the studio to a full-length mirror.

"Fuck!" I said getting a look at myself in the mirror.

I was astonished. The person in the mirror didn't look like me. She looked tall and beautifully curved. The dress was everything Miroslava had promised and more. A deep sort of beige, the fabric worked brilliantly with my skin tone. While it was never a color I would have picked; now it was beaded, there was nothing boring or plain about the design. The gown was simply stunning!

With a sheer boat neck, it had small cap sleeves sitting right on the shoulders. The width at the top combined with an embroidered waist accentuated my curves. The torso had an underlining, over which was ornate hand done beading in symmetrical designs on the sheer fabric.

The skirt was tight until around mid-thigh when it splayed out toward the bottom. With a banded hem and subtle lace effect underneath the colors of the overlay, the skirt moved beautifully with every subtle shift of my body. I'd be able to dance, and I could walk relatively easily, and the gown shifted with me. I relinquished Abe's arm, doing a little twirl to see how the gown performed.

"Show us the back," Karolina breathed entranced.

I turned around, peering over my shoulder to see it in the mirror. The back had beading around the neckline and shoulder with a bare patch of sheer fabric to show off my back. The beading resumed just above my bra line, as did the under fabric, continuing down over my backside. The dress was slightly longer at the back giving a subtle train effect without impeding my movement or ability to dance.

It was nothing like I'd seen other girls wear for graduation, and that's when I understood what Miroslava had meant about not looking like a girl at her first dance. In this dress, I looked like an elegant, sophisticated woman. People seeing me stand beside Dimitri wearing this weren't going to think of me as a high school graduate; I'd look like a woman.

"I love it!" I gasped, doing another twirl. "It's beautiful!"

Olena was weeping with a huge grin on her face, and my father looked like he was tearing up, too!

"You look beautiful, kiz. A grown-up woman and I missed it all."

I turned to him and grasped his hand.

"You're here now," I smiled. "And I have you to thank for this beautiful dress!"

"You're going to be the belle of the ball," he smiled. "Every man is going to want to dance with you, but save your old man a dance or two?"

"I will Baba," I promised, hugging him.

"So you are happy, no?" Miroslava said with a knowing smirk.

"I _love_ it!" I enthused. "It's so perfect!"

"You come see me when you're going to be a bride," she said. "I could do wonders for a wedding gown with your figure," she said approvingly, caressing the side of my face.

"That's a long time away," I laughed, rolling my eyes, noticing that once I would have said that was never going to happen.

"Where am I going?" she joked with a theatrical shrug.

Olena and Yeva checked the dress up close, admiring and complimenting Miroslava on the fine workmanship. Finally, the fitting was declared done, and I slipped back behind the curtain to get changed.

Miroslava bundled the gown into a garment bag, while Pavel popped up the road to Abe's place to collect the van. It was decided that Abe would store the gown at his house with my shoes and underwear, and Olena would make sure she brought it up on Saturday in time for graduation when they came to St. Basil's with Abe.

"You don't want to transport that on the train," she argued. "There is space in the van, and we will bring it with us. Yours too, Meredith."

That's how we found ourselves in Abe's van driving back home for lunch, my dress carefully spread out on the back seat, my underwear and shoes in a bag beside it.

"Get your gown, Meredith. Underwear, shoes and bag, too." Olena instructed as we got home. "Rose? Put your bag with your underwear and shoes."

We did as we bid, each flitting to our rooms to get the required items, taking them back out to the van.

"You take care of them!" Olena was firmly instructing Pavel. "Hang them up as soon as you get home. Don't let anyone touch them!"

Pavel solemnly promised to treat both gowns with all due care and attention, and I gave Abe a final teary hug and thanks before he and Pavel drove home.

"How did the fitting go?" Dimitri asked curiously once we were all inside. "Are you happy with the dress?"

"Yeah, it'll do," I said feigning disinterest. "It fits, and it looks alright."

My eyes met Olena's as she stood out of Dimitri's line of sight in the kitchen. She gave me a wink which I responded to with a smile. Come Saturday, Dimitri was going to have no idea what hit him!

* * *

A/N

Rose's dress is now up on my Facebook page if you want to take a look :)

www facebook com / swimmingthesamedeepwaters


	53. Chapter 53

"Auntie Rose? I want to see you, Meredith and Eddie compete in the elimination fights. Can I stay at St. Basil's after your graduation and watch them?" Paul asked as the family was having an early lunch on Thursday ahead of our midday train.

"Paul - Roza, and the others are going to be too busy participating in the fights to take care of you," Dimitri replied in a tone of voice that indicated the discussion was closed.

"But I can hang out with Vika. Her classes finish tomorrow. I could come back with you all on Thursday? Please, Uncle Dimka? No one at school has seen the elimination fights."

Karolina was looking at her son in surprise. She'd evidently had no clue he'd hatched up this plan.

I looked at Dimitri and shrugged. If Viktoria was happy to look after him, I had no objections. He might even be able to crash in her dorm, but if not there was bound to be a sofa he could crash on in our suite in guest quarters.

"It's not up to me," Dimitri said, sidestepping the question. "It's up to your mother."

"I don't know. You're still young," Karolina said trying to make up her mind.

"It's a _school_ Mama! It's filled with young people. And I'll be going there next year."

"Let the lad stay, Karolina," Yeva urged. "He doesn't get to go many places – telling his friends about the fights will be exciting, and he'll be with Dimka and Vika."

"Is that alright Dimka?" Karolina checked.

"Fine," Dimitri huffed with pretend annoyance, although I could tell he didn't really mind his nephew staying. "I'll call when we get there. If there's somewhere for you to sleep you can stay, but Vika looks after you, and one toe out of line and I'll send you back home with one of Abe's Guardians." It was an empty threat, and we all knew it. Paul threw himself into his uncle's arms before doing likewise with me.

Not long after, Pavel was at the door with the van to take us to meet the train. We each carried a duffel. We didn't need a lot since we'd be in training gear the next few days, and Olena had larger bags for each of us she'd be bringing up with our evening wear on Saturday.

Our farewells were brief as we'd be seeing everyone the day after tomorrow, but Olena still insisted on a phone call tonight to let her know we were in safe, and another tomorrow night to hear about our trials. It was sweet the way she'd pseudo-adopted not just me but Eddie and Meredith as well.

Abe was in the van for the short trip, wishing us all well and reconfirming the arrangements for Saturday. They were going to be leaving at 7 am for the two-hour trip, getting in an hour or so before the 10.30 am graduation ceremony. We'd have lunch with the Belikovas, and then Abe would send the ladies back at around 3 pm so they'd be home well before sundown.

"Oh I forgot to say, Paul is going to stay for the elimination fights with us. Vika's meant to look after him, but can you keep an eye out for him, too?"

"Yes, that's fine." Abe had a bit of a soft spot for Paul, probably because he thought Abe and Pavel were both too cool for words. The expensive gifts Abe had given him every Sunday probably hadn't hurt, either!

With final hugs and handshakes, it was time. We slipped into the station, Abe handing us tickets he'd prepurchased before we could make it to the ticket window, and then the train was pulling in. Climbing on board, we found a set of four seats facing each other over a low table. By the time we sat down, there was just enough time to wave to Pavel and Abe on the platform before the train pulled out.

Dimitri sat beside me, giving me the window seat. Grasping my hand, he pulled it to his lips.

"Nervous?"

"A little?" I admitted.

"It's my turn to show you three _my_ school now," he laughed, excited to be returning to the site where he learned to be a Guardian.

* * *

"Belikov! It's been a long time!"

We were at a train station in the middle of nowhere, and the place was empty other than a single Guardian in his fifties.

"Guardian Sokolov," Dimitri said with a grin, stepping forward to shake his hand warmly. "Can I present Novices Hathaway, Castile and Edwards?" he said gesturing to each of us in turn. "Guys this is Guardian Sokolov, Captian of the Guard at St. Basil's. I didn't expect you to be the one to meet us."

"Everything's crazy up at the school, and to be honest I needed half an hour's peace and quiet," he chuckled. "Come on let's get you lot settled."

He led us to a van, and we piled in Dimitri riding shotgun.

"I've set the four of you up in guest accommodations. Your Novices will be called for their trials at 6.30 tomorrow morning. It's crazy in the dining hall; tomorrow's the last classes for the year, and most of the Novices have already completed their trials, so I've asked catering staff to bring you your meal to your suite tonight, so you're not disturbed."

Dimitri and Guardian Sokolov were talking, but Eddie, Meredith and I were quiet, watching the trees get thicker and thicker as we turned off the main road and onto a well-kept road through the forest, eventually pulling up at a twelve foot stone wall with ornate iron gates. Greeted by a Guardian in a gatehouse, Sokolov wound down the window to identify himself, and we were waved straight through.

"It's a lot bigger than St. Vlad's," Meredith said in awe as the first of campus became visible. Set in a clearing, St. Basil's had the same square shape as St. Vlad's, but was much more extensive. And while St. Vlad's had the whole faux gothic thing going on, St. Basil's was the real deal.

"This place is enormous," I agreed, taking it all in.

"The layout is very similar to St. Vlad's," Dimitri explained, pointing to the various buildings and describing their purpose. We pulled up in front of an imposing three-story structure.

"Guest quarters. I'll show you to your suite."

Shouldering our bags we followed Guardian Sokolov up to the top floor, stopping in front of a door halfway down the long corridor. Suite 224. He opened the door to a stale smelling but otherwise clean set of rooms.

"Three bedrooms, one bathroom," he explained. "I'll leave you here, but your Novices need to be at the gym at 6.30 am tomorrow. I'll catch up with you then," he said to Dimitri.

"Sure thing, and thanks."

We looked in the bedrooms – one was a king, the second had a double and a single the final just a double.

"Rose and I will share this one," Dimitri said grabbing my bag and his and taking them through to the largest room. "Meredith you take the room with two beds. If anyone queries it, you can say you're sharing with Rose."

Meredith nodded, and I had to smile. It was now a given that where Dimitri slept so would I – a far cry from when we'd first left St. Vlad's. We were unpacking what little we'd brought with us when there was a knock at the door. Vika. Dimitri let her in, and she flopped on one of the two sofas in the small living room.

"I've got some good news for you," Dimitri told her as he checked out the fridge in the small kitchenette. "Paul's going to stay to watch the elimination fights, and you're going to watch him."

"No fair! I don't want to be on babysitting duty!"

"I'll call home, and you tell him he can't stay then," Dimitri shrugged.

Vika pouted but gave in.

"Fine. But he can't stay in my room; he'll have to stay here with you."

I could see Dimitri about to offer up the spare bed in Meredith's room, so I butted in.

"Sure. He's only ten – he can crash on the sofa."

That aspect of things decided, Vika filled us in on the info about the trials she'd heard from the gossip around campus. According to rumor, there were four different courses, and the candidates had to steer their Moroi through the course, navigating different challenges. Some of the stories she'd heard sounded a little farfetched, but we were able to determine there were two outdoor courses, two indoors, and we had half an hour to get through the course otherwise we'd be stopped however far we made it through.

We'd been sitting talking for an hour when there was another knock at the door. Dimitri opened it, and a Guardian in his forties greeted him in Russian. They spoke for a moment before Vika translated what was being said.

"It's Guardian Oskey. Sokolov sent him up to do the molnija you're owed."

I'd almost forgotten I'd earned another molnija. That would be ten now for me, and Eddie's third.

"It will only take a moment," Dimitri said as the Guardian set up on the small dining table.

He was right. Ten minutes later Eddie and I were freshly inked, and Guardian Oskey was on his way, Vika taking her leave at the same time to go to dinner.

"I'm catching up with you," I said once they'd gone, giving Dimitri a long hard kiss.

"You are," he said, taking my hand and pulling me into the room we'd be sharing for the next week, firmly closing the door behind us.

* * *

We walked into the gym at 6.25 am with Dimitri. Four other Novices were waiting there, but no one we knew. Until I was promised, Dimitri and I had agreed to keep affection behind closed doors, so he stood to one side chatting with Guardian Sokolov as we were handed clipboards to fill out our details. That done, I held the clipboard between my knees as I finished tying up my hair, putting it into a high ponytail and then securing it with the bun holder Dimitri had given me for my eighteenth. He didn't say anything when he noticed me using it, but I saw the corners of his mouth curl slightly in a smile.

We were called four at a time, Eddie, Meredith and I all in the first batch, lending credence to Viktoria's intel of there being four simultaneous courses.

"Good luck you three," Dimitri said as we went to follow four different Guardians to our courses. His smile was for all of us, but his eyes lingered on me.

"See you back here in half an hour," I smirked.

The Guardian I'd been entrusted to led me outside and across the campus to a wooded area. Following a wide path, I found myself at the foot of what looked like a mountain of junk. On closer inspection, I realized it was an outdoor amphitheater. Built into the side of a natural slope, the stone-edged terraces were about six foot wide, and three foot tall. There were eight or ten of them spanning a wide area. You'd easily be able to seat a thousand people here, which was the point, I suppose.

Looking up at the terraces, there was a range of man-made equipment and impediments situated on different levels, which was why I'd initially thought it was a rubbish dump. In addition to the man-made debris, there were shrubs and greenery which would be the perfect hiding spot for 'Strigoi.'

"Novice Hathaway?" a female Guardian in her mid-twenties asked. "From St. Vladimir's?"

"That's right," I said confidently, offering her my hand.

"But you've been training elsewhere?"

"Yes. Myself and a couple of others trained privately the last six weeks. It was that or St. Michael's," I joked.

"I understand," she said with a friendly grin. "For your trial, I will be your Moroi. You need to get me from one end of the course to the other. There will be Strigoi along the course, and you can't cross over any of the red lines. For the purpose of the trial consider them three-hundred foot drops onto jagged rocks.

A quick glance at the terraces showed me the red lines were everywhere, some hidden behind shrubbery or equipment. It would mean lots of doubling back which would increase the amount of time it would take to get through the course. Waiting for the siren to sound indicating it was time to start, my eyes flitted over the levels, trying to chart a route. We were at the bottom of the amphitheater, which meant we'd be traveling upwards – giving any Strigoi above us a distinct advantage. I'd worked out how to traverse the bottom four levels and had picked up a plastic practice stake, and a spare, when the siren blew and my trial started.

I started urging my Moroi toward the logical entrance point. She was pretending to be freaked out, not following my orders as promptly as I would have liked. One stake in my grip, the other sheathed on my thigh, I coaxed her forward, explaining we were better off moving and not sitting ducks for Strigoi. We made it through the first level and were making our way to the second when the first attack came. Two 'Strigoi.' Dressed all in black they tried to get between my charge and me, but I was too fast for them. Shoving her behind me, I immediately leaped into an aerial maneuver, kicking the foremost Strigoi straight in the solar plexus. He fell back close to a red line, and I rushed at him pushing him over the 'edge,' and I watched him kiss the dirt falling down the mountain.

"Incapacitated climbing three hundred foot cliff," the first Strigoi said in an accented voice, picking himself up and standing off to one side. Meanwhile, I was hand to hand fighting with the other. This part of the course had piles of filing cabinets, chairs, and other office equipment, so I had to be careful not to trip on chair legs and the like sticking out of the pile. After about a minute, I was able to kill the second Strigoi and keep moving. However, I was aware I had a Strigoi potentially behind me now as well in front.

Slowly climbing over the next bunch of obstructions, a pile of metal bed frames, we had made it to the third level and straight up to the fourth when we were attacked again. Three this time! The first was dead in seconds. I had them staked before they knew what was happening. The second I pushed into the third, staking the second from behind before they could right themselves. However the third was playing hard to reach, going on the defensive and trying to get me to wear myself out. I was pondering the strategy until I did a quick spin and spotted the Strigoi from the three-hundred-foot drop approaching from behind. Clever!

Appreciating I had to rid myself of one Strigoi, else potentially be fighting two at once, I charged the one closer to me, forcing them to engage. They got me to the ground at one point, but after battling a man as strong and heavy as Dimitri, I could buck a lighter Guardian off with no worries. I swung them onto their back and staked them, getting up just in time to deal with the Strigoi I'd sent over the cliff.

A short man, but stocky, he was strong but lacked my speed. I flitted around his periphery for a moment or two before sneaking within his range and delivering some painful blows before stepping back out of reach. The third time I did this, he reacted by lifting his arms in an attempt to bring them down in a bone-crunching attack on my shoulder. Sadly, for him, I staked him while his arms were in the air, his chest undefended.

Reassuring my Moroi, we kept going, safely negotiating our way to the fifth and then sixth layers. I thought I knew the best path to get to the seventh level, only to discover a red line I hadn't seen earlier indicating we were at a dead end, so had to double back looking for another opening. But I found it, and we made it up to level seven.

There was literally stuff everywhere on this level. It was physically challenging to negotiate a pathway through the 'stuff' they'd used to fill the terrace. Almost labyrinthine in its design, I had to continually coax my Moroi who was complaining of being tired. Finally, through and onto level eight, the second last level, I saw four Strigoi approaching. I swore under my breath. These trials were meant to be hard, not impossible!

Securing my charge as well as I could between an upended sofa and an old mattress, I took them on one by one. While the adrenaline was pumping, I was tiring, too. But not completing the course was not an option, so I picked them off one after the other, booting one of them so hard in the jaw I knocked him out.

"I'm so sorry! I was aiming for the shoulder," I said after I'd staked his prostrate form.

"He moved at the last moment," a female Strigoi I'd staked moments before agreed, clearing me of an intentionally dangerous move. While we were meant to treat these as realistic exercises, we weren't supposed to intentionally injure the Guardians pretending to be Strigoi. When I'd finally downed my last opponent, I retrieved my charge and successfully led her to the final level and over to the large bell sitting on a table there. I picked it up and rang it, signifying the end of my trial.

"That was great!" the Guardian pretending to be my Moroi said enthusiastically. "Just on seventeen minutes!"

"Is that a good time for this course?"

"Not bad. The fastest was fifteen and a half, but they only got two Strigoi."

"What? Why'd I get nine?"

"We heard you already had molnija," she said pointing to the back of my neck. "We wanted to see if you were any good."

I muttered something colorful almost under my breath and looked up to see Guardian Sokolov, Dimitri, and some other Guardians step out from where they'd been obscured in the treeline. They'd been watching the trial unbeknownst to me. Sokolov's face was impassive, so gave me no idea of how I'd performed, but the warmth in Dimitri's eyes told me I'd done well.

Shaking the hands of the Guardians I'd fought, and asking them to pass on my apologies to the one I'd sent to the infirmary, I trailed Dimitri and Sokolov back to the gym. Meredith was already waiting and we'd only been there a moment when Eddie came in.

"How'd you go?" I asked them.

"Good I think? I had a floor of the classrooms in the teaching block. Some of the rooms and corridors were locked or blocked off, so I had to get my Moroi through them. I saw three Strigoi," Eddie said.

"Mine was outside," Meredith replied. "Only one strigoi, but lots of climbing over walls and under nets and that sort of thing." Well, that explained why she looked a bit worse for wear.

"I had like a tiered amphitheater sort of thing with lots of junk on it. Had nine Strigoi."

"Nine?" Eddie hissed. "That doesn't seem fair?!"

"Some girls just get all the luck, I suppose," I joked.

We'd each had a light breakfast before the fights, but none of us wanted to be fighting on a full stomach, so we'd decided to wait until after the trials to have something more substantial. But now we were done, and I wanted to announce my presence at St. Basil's!

"Anyone fancy a second breakfast?" I asked hopefully. Eddie was always as hungry as me, so he was quick to agree, and Meredith was keen to come, too.

"I've got to go sign off on some forms in Sokolov's office," Dimitri replied. "I'll find Vika and see you at the dining hall in fifteen."

Giving us directions, he explained there was a hierarchy of seating in the dining area, and where we were most likely to find our friends. It was approaching 7.30 am. Breakfast should be in full swing. The three of us found ourselves outside the dining hall, and peering in I was able to identify Chelsea's bright red hair in the section Dimitri had indicated. She was sitting with Ryan also from St. Vlad's and I was delighted to note Elizaveta and Artyom were at the next table! Giving Eddie a wink, and swinging my hips just a little more than usual, I sauntered across the room to where my St. Vladimir's friends sat.

Ryan looked up in surprise as he saw the three of us approach, but didn't manage to get anything out before I sat down next to him giving him a man-eater smile.

"So tell me – is the food here any good?" I asked loudly, laughing at Chelsea, Elizaveta, and Artyom's stunned expressions when they spotted Eddie, Meredith and myself.


	54. Chapter 54

"Oh my God! What are you guys doing here?" Chelsea gasped as Eddie sat next to me, Meredith beside him.

"Had our trials this morning. Here ready to graduate tomorrow," I laughed, dropping our bombshell with a cheeky lift of my eyebrows. It was wonderful to see old friends, and while I'd never been super close with Chelsea or Ryan something about seeing them here made me feel more at home.

Artyom and Elizaveta stood, coming to stand at the table beside us.

"I thought you were graduating from St. Michael's?" Elizaveta said with barely contained animosity. "Your mother said that's where you three and Blake were going?"

"Nope. We left Court hours after you, and we've been training privately since" I retorted smugly. "Although Blake did go to St. Michael's."

"Private training?" Ryan groaned. He knew the three of us were already good, and now we'd probably be even better. "Where? With who?"

"In a little town, two hours from here called Baia. We've been training with Belikov and some other Guardians," Eddie supplied.

"You trained with Guardian Belikov?" Chelsea asked, a little smile on her face.

"Yep!" I said gleefully, popping the p. "Eight hours a day six days a week. Stayed at his house for a month and a half, too!"

Meredith was smirking at Chelsea's dreamy expression. Dimitri had his fair share of female admirers, as I well knew!

"Does he have any younger brothers?" Chelsea asked, a blush forming on her cheeks.

"Three sisters," I replied apologetically.

"How lucky Guardian Belikov was available to train you," Elizaveta snapped. "How did _that_ come about?"

"Rose's father organized it," Eddie said easily. "He flew us over here and paid all our expenses. The training was great. We worked with Belikov and a few of Mr. Mazur's Guardians every day. And each weekend we participated in an open fight club sort of thing. I learned _loads!"_

"I bet the two of you loved being over here away from your mother's attention," Elizaveta said in a nasty tone of voice giving me a loaded look.

I tensed, wondering what she knew when it dawned on me that she still thought something was going on between Eddie and me! I couldn't help but smirk, which only fueled her erroneous assumption.

"What scenarios did you get for your trials?" Artyom asked, quickly changing the subject after shooting his sister an annoyed look, wordlessly telling her to drop it.

"Outdoor obstacle course for me," Meredith replied.

"I got classrooms," Eddie piped up.

"I got that one, too," Elizaveta replied in a friendlier tone, seating herself on one of the empty chairs at the table.

"I got an outdoor amphitheater filled with junk," I added.

"I got that one!" Ryan commiserated. "Made it hard to get past the Strigoi!"

"Yeah, I know! I pushed one over the edge of the cliff, so then on the next attack I had them in front and one behind," I bitched.

"How many Strigoi did you all get?" Chelsea asked. "I only got one!"

Meredith confirmed she'd also only got one, while Ryan and Elizaveta mentioned they'd each had two, but in separate attacks. Eddie told the others about his three.

Artyom wasn't saying anything, which made me suspicious.

"How many did you face?" I asked him.

"Five, in three attacks," he said quietly, a little embarrassed. "You?"

"Nine," I said with an attempt at nonchalance. "Across three attacks, although I faced the one I threw over the cliff twice."

"Shit girl!" Ryan said whistling through his teeth.

"You know Hathaway," Eddie jumped in. "Never does anything by half!"

The way he said it sounded admiring. Proud even. I looked up to see a devilish twinkle in my old friend's eye. He knew the direction of Elizaveta's thoughts and wanted to have a little fun with her. But if Elizaveta picked up on Eddie's tone, so did Artyom.

"You've earned another molnija," he commented in an almost tender voice, looking at the back of my neck.

I shivered but shrugged off his interest.

"Yeah. Eddie, too. Separate attacks."

"God damn, Hathaway! How many do you have?" Ryan asked copping a look at my neck. I'd forgotten when they'd left St. Vlad's I'd only had the two from Spokane.

"Ten and a zvezda," I answered in a 'don't ask any more questions' tone of voice.

After that, we gossiped for a while. Ryan was in touch with some of the other St. Vlad's Novices, so was able to tell us our friends at St. Christopher's had graduated yesterday and that St. Michael's were graduating their Novices next Friday.

Dimitri appeared at that moment, accompanied by Viktoria.

"Vika! Come show me what's worth eating here!" I said, jumping up and linking my arm through hers. Eddie, Meredith, and Dimitri followed us up to the servery. Vika indicated a few things that were ok, and more to the point things that were best avoided, and the five of us returned to the table with loaded plates. After the exertion of the trials, I was ravenous, despite eating earlier. Not that I needed extra reason to stack my plate - I always ate as though every meal were my last!

"This is my sister Viktoria Belikova," Dimitri said a little awkwardly to Ryan, Chelsea, and the Vitsins as we sat at the table. The rest of us needed no introduction, so we started in on our food.

It was so odd to be sitting with my old classmates, Dimitri's sister as well as the Vitsins. It was like three separate parts of my life were coming together. But the strangest thing was sitting so close to Dimitri and not being able to touch him. After the last few weeks where we'd been so publically affectionate, I wasn't used to holding back. I'd had no idea how often I looked at him until now when I had to stop myself from lifting my eyes to meet his. It was back to being student and mentor again, and I hated it!

* * *

"What was Elizaveta getting at with her comments?" Dimitri asked after breakfast. Viktoria had to go to her final classes for the year, so Dimitri was taking the opportunity to show Meredith, Eddie and I around campus. We were in the chapel, and he stopped in the aisle for a moment as Meredith and Eddie went further down to look at some of the stained glass windows.

"She thinks something is going on between Eddie and me," I said with a giggle. "And Eddie is playing up to it."

Dimitri raised an eyebrow then shook his head but let it go.

"Artyom hasn't got over his interest in you," he continued acerbically. "He couldn't take his eyes off you."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," I said in an innocent voice.

"It is beautiful in here," I sighed looking about me. "It makes the St. Vlad's chapel seem so small." The St. Basil's chapel, like every other part of this academy, was more extensive and older than the one at St. Vlad's. I couldn't help but feel my home paled in comparison.

"St. Vladimir's will always be very special to me," Dimitri said, his voice tender. "It's where I fell in love with you."

Since we were the only ones in the chapel, other than Eddie and Meredith, we shared a quick kiss.

"You were outstanding in your trial this morning. Sokolov and I got there just after you started and you were magnificent. You got the second fastest time through the course."

"Yeah, they said someone did it in fifteen and a half," I sighed.

"With only two Strigoi in separate attacks," he interjected. "Are you looking forward to tomorrow? Making your promise?"

"I haven't thought about it much. I've been too busy focusing on getting through everything to get to this point."

"You've had more to deal with than most," he acknowledged, stroking my hand.

"But I've had you to help me," I said, twisting my fingers in his and closing the distance between us again. We would have kissed, had the outer door to the chapel not opened. I jumped back, wrenching my hand from his and putting a respectable distance between us. It was Guardian Sokolov.

"Ahh, Belikov. Guardian Bollen said he thought he saw you come in here. I have a message from Guardian Croft. He's just arrived for graduation and the elimination fights. He's requested dinner tonight with you and your Novices as well as the Vitsin twins."

Dimitri nodded, his Guardian mask in place, but with my lover's eyes, I could see he was alarmed.

"Six o'clock in the small dining room off the dining hall," Sokolov confirmed. "I'll leave you two to it," he added with a knowing smirk.

"Guardian Croft is here? Does he usually come for graduation?"

"He wasn't at mine, but he did come the year before I graduated."

"So why do you think he wants to meet with us?" I said, voicing the sixty-four thousand dollar question.

"I honestly don't know," Dimitri replied, troubled.

* * *

After the news Guardian Croft wanted to see us, we were all a little on edge, but particularly Eddie, Dimitri and I. Dimitri pulled Eddie aside to tell him if somehow Croft knew about the break-in, he was to tell him that Dimitri had coerced him into not saying anything.

"You don't have to take the fall for me," I said to Dimitri when we were alone afterward.

"Roza – if Croft knows, there'll be no saving you or me. The least we can do is make sure Eddie keeps a clean record."

I couldn't disagree, but it was a sobering thought.

Eddie, Meredith and I spent the afternoon with Chelsea, Ryan, and the other St. Vladimir's students hanging out in the common room. I was stunned to find the St. Basil's students had heard of us thanks to Elizaveta and Artyom.

"I knew you'd all be nice," a pretty dark eyed, dark haired Dhampir called Albina said. "Elizaveta was telling us you were horrible and rude, but she doesn't like anyone, so I figured you had to be nice!"

"She's not popular here?" Meredith asked curiously.

"No. She's very competitive and is jealously possessive of her brother. Artyom is so nice, but she's horrible."

Eddie and I stifled our laughter. Just as Albina had finished her words, the woman herself appeared in the doorway, her brother a step behind. They were too far away to hear what Albina had said, but her timing was impeccable!

"Guardian Sokolov said we're requested for dinner this evening," Artyom said, but it was more of a question – like he was asking if we had any idea what it was about.

"Yeah," I said, telling him with my eyes not to mention anything more in front others.

Artyom and Elizaveta ended up joining us for the rest of the afternoon, but gone was the easy conversation and banter we'd enjoyed before they'd arrived. Elizaveta used every opportunity to be rude to me, and to a lesser extent Meredith. And Dimitri was right; Artyom's eyes barely left me the entire time.

* * *

Dimitri and I lay on the bed in our bedroom holding each other as we counted down the minutes 'til our evening meal. I couldn't shake the ominous feeling that tonight was going to change everything.

"No matter what happens, promise me we'll find a way to be together? To make it work?" I begged half an hour before we were due at dinner.

"Roza you're my everything. Whatever it takes I'll do it," he said simply, kissing me until I forgot how terrified I was.

Meredith and I had wore dark jeans and pale shirts. Not quite Guardian clothing, but close to it. It was the best we could do – it was that or training clothes. It wasn't like we'd planned to be eating with the head of Guardians when we'd packed! I spent ten minutes putting my hair up into the bun holder, then putting on a little subtle eyeliner, some mascara and finishing off with my usual lipgloss. Then I helped Meredith put up her hair. While she might not appreciate quite why we were on edge, there was no escaping the tense mood. But we plastered on smiles and did our best to appear relaxed as we made our way to the dining room just before six.

"I was worried enough when Croft called us weeks ago," Artyom said as soon as he saw us. "Do you have any idea why he wants to meet?"

"None," I said, taking solace in the fact Artyom and Elizaveta had received calls, too. "But they won't serve Croft shitty food, so hopefully it'll be a good meal," I said feigning cheerfulness.

We lined up outside the doorway to the dining room, Dimitri knocking and entering when bidden.

"Belikov," the man who must be Croft greeted as soon as we came in, shaking my Russian God's hand. "Good to see you again. Introduce me to the Novices," he instructed with an easy manner.

"Guardian Croft," Dimitri replied respectfully. "This is Novice Eddie Castile, Meredith Edwards, Rose Hathaway, Artyom Vitsin and Elizaveta Vitsin," he said, pointing to us one by one.

"It's nice to meet most of the team who did such a sterling job on their mission," he said, sitting and gesturing for us to do likewise.

Dimitri and I had discussed our strategy, and we decided to sit opposite one another, Meredith beside me. That way I wouldn't appear to be seeking Dimitri out, but I'd still be able to get a read on his facial expressions and visa versa.

"You're all over eighteen, right?" Croft asked with a chuckle, looking at us Novices. When we nodded, he surprised us all by whipping out a bottle of iced vodka from a nearby ice bucket, quickly pouring a round of shots. We all downed them, as per Russian custom, before he poured a second round, which was polished off with equal efficiency.

Servers entered with plates with our first course. Tefteli, which Dimitri explained to Meredith, Eddie and I was like meatballs with herbs and rice. It looked ok, so I dug in, relieved to find it tasted great!

"So how are you enjoying Russia and St. Basil's?" Croft asked, looking to the end of the table where us St. Vladimir's Novices sat.

"It's very different, Sir," Eddie volunteered respectfully, answering on our behalf. "Both are bigger than I imagined, but I've enjoyed both so far."

"You were training with Belikov in his hometown, is that right?"

"Yes. The other academies were full. Since we'd already been on the mission with Guardian Belikov, it was the easiest option given it was only a few weeks," Eddie replied, approximating the truth.

"Guardian Sokolov told me you and Hathaway both earned molnija over the last few weeks?"

"Yes that's right, Sir," I piped up. "Both single attacks on the roads surrounding Baia."

"It's a mixed Dhampir/Human township," Dimitri explained, continuing from what I'd said. "Strigoi are often on the roads looking for casual visitors."

The distaste in my Russian God's voice was evident, and we all knew the sort of visitors he meant. The Moroi male kind.

"Quite," Croft replied delicately.

"So I've wanted to speak with you all more about your mission," he continued, looking up from his meatballs. "Her Majesty has received favorable reports from the Alchemists. We're at a critical juncture in Moroi Alchemist relations, so anything additional you can tell me about the mission or your interactions would be useful."

We were all quiet for a moment, and even though I could see Dimitri shooting me a look, I opened my mouth anyway.

"Critical how Guardian Croft? I'm sorry to ask, but it's hard to know what is or isn't relevant when we don't know what's going on."

Croft leaned back in his chair, eyeing me speculatively.

"I'm not sure how much you know about the history between Moroi and the Alchemists?" he asked.

I shrugged, gesturing for him to continue.

"Much like Moroi politics, Alchemists have different political groups with varying agendas, too. Their ruling process is at least as complicated as our own, and for the last three or four decades, a particularly rightwing group of Alchemists have been in power. However a year or two ago, a more progressive group of Alchemists have taken the lead. In the past, our interaction with the Alchemists has been strained at best – however, your mission was a trial of sorts for cooperation between their new government and our own."

My eyes flicked to Dimitri's. So far this wasn't sounding too concerning.

"In the past, the Alchemists' sole purpose was to conceal knowledge of our kind from humans. They dealt with us under sufferance, and actively avoided Moroi altogether. However, with the new more progressive group at the helm, they're more willing to deal with Dhampir and Guardians in particular. While they appreciate our priorities are different, they see that overall our purposes align, and they have indicated a greater willingness to work cooperatively with Guardians against the common threat of the Strigoi."

I nodded. What he said made sense.

"Your mission was the first step in forming a new understanding with the Alchemists. It was about establishing trust and motivation to work together, and I am delighted to report it was a resounding success. The Alchemist family whose property you stayed at were impressed with your interactions, and willingness to abide by their wishes."

As he said it, my heart lurched. For perhaps the first time I appreciated just how much I'd risked by what I'd done. While it looked like my actions had gone unnoticed, I was feeling ill when I realized the scope of what I'd endangered with my curiosity.

"The hope is that going forward we'll find ways to interact more cooperatively. With Strigoi numbers rising, and fewer Guardians, we need to do something to ensure Moroi are kept safe and humans remain ignorant of us all," he explained grimly.

Our next course arrived. Pelmeni. That needed no explanation. Not only had we enjoyed them frequently at the Belikov house, but it had also been one of the first things Dimitri had shown us all how to cook on our mission, along with the vegetarian equivalent Vareniki. We dug in with relish, and while they were good, they weren't a patch on Dimitri or Olena's!

The conversation had morphed into something more general, Croft enquiring about our trials and other topics. I was half listening to the conversation around me, meanwhile working through a concept in my head. I waited for a natural pause in the conversation when I launched my idea.

"Guardian Croft? You know how you were talking about Guardians and Alchemists working more closely? I had an idea about that."

"Oh I'm sure this will be worth hearing," Elizaveta muttered sarcastically not quite under her breath. The whole table could hear it, even Croft.

I looked up, and Dimitri was watching me apprehensively. I gave him a reassuring nod before I continued, ignoring Elizaveta's rude comment.

"The other day Eddie killed a Strigoi on the side of the road. The car he was driving had broken down, and he was with Guardian Belikov's mother, grandmother, and sister," I explained, trying to set the scene. "We knew they'd broken down, and it was just at sunset, so a group of us headed out to retrieve them, but before we could get there, they were attacked. Eddie dispatched the Strigoi, but when we got there the Russian Guardians with us photographed the body then texted the details through to the Alchemists with the GPS location of the kill."

"There are only a few Alchemists for a large area surrounding Baia," Dimitri explained in an attempt to support what I was saying. "We have a lot of Strigoi activity, so it's something the Alchemists are trialing to more efficiently allocate their resources. The GPS location helps them locate the body."

I shot Dimitri a smile for supporting me. I appreciated his help.

Elizaveta obviously, and pointedly, yawned. I seriously wanted to lean over and slap the bored look from her face, but with difficulty, I refrained!

" _Anyway,_ I thought one of the problems about tracking Strigoi movements is reports have to be filed to headquarters, and that's often a day or two later, then someone has to notice a pattern and report that back to the regions. By that stage, it's too late for any sort of early warning. But if every Strigoi sighting or kill was logged immediately by text, it could be input on a centralized system. Alchemists could divert their agents to clean ups more effectively, and multiple kills or sightings in an area would be much more likely to be observed and could be quickly communicated to Guardians, Dhampir communities and Moroi facilities in the region. If we knew there was increased Strigoi activity, we could be more prepared and alter our activities accordingly."

"And this information would be sent to the Alchemists? What guarantee do we have they'd share it in a timely manner?" Croft asked, playing devil's advocate.

"It could be the Alchemists who were texted, or you could set up a single number that alerts the local Guardian headquarters and the local Alchemists if you wanted."

"Is that possible?"

"Yeah – a single number can easily be set to divert to others," I said with a smile. "I mean the ideal would be to work together, but even if you don't, or not at first, that sort of up to date information could be useful for both sides."

"Yes. Yes, it could," Croft said thoughtfully. "And photographs would be useful, too. It couldn't replace proper reports. We still need that detailed information…"

"Yes, _Rosemarie,"_ Elizaveta sneered, stressing the full name I abhorred. "What's really needed is the report!"

It took a great deal of effort, but I managed not to roll my eyes or slap her. You know, I think I deserve some sort of medal for that!

"Yes, _of course_ , the report would still be needed. This could be more like a pre-report. But it would give faster info to those who could use it and could also give Headquarters a list of reports to chase up if needs be."

Elizaveta was opening her mouth to deride me yet again but was stopped by a swift elbow in the ribs from her brother. If she couldn't see she was making an ass out of herself in front of the man in charge of every Guardian worldwide, he could.

"Yes. Thank you, Hathaway. It's an idea I'll certainly be exploring further. And please - let me know if any other ideas like that come to you."

Conscious I'd monopolized enough of the conversation, I returned my attention to the Pelmeni, listening as Croft subtly quizzed the others about their interactions with the Alchemists during our mission and each other. Now I was confident he didn't know about my infraction, I was much more relaxed, and through my lashes, I noticed so was my Russian God.

By the time dessert arrived, Eddie, Meredith, Dimitri and I were joking between us. We'd all known each other at St. Vlad's, but months of living and training in close quarters had given us an easy, comfortable manner of interaction. Artyom was awkwardly joining in our conversation from time to time, but Elizaveta was silent, glowering at the rest of us, even her brother. She was making no secret of her disapproval.

"That went better than I thought it would," I laughed as the four of us walked back to our quarters. "I was shitting myself before dinner!"

"Its hard to believe this time tomorrow we'll be Guardians," Meredith said as Dimitri opened the door. "I never thought I'd be graduating from St. Basil's!"

"I never thought Rose would graduate at all!" Eddie quipped, joking about my many misdemeanors over the years.

"Haha," I laughed, waving them both goodnight as Dimitri and I retired to our room.

"This time tomorrow I'll be a Guardian!" I mused, the idea finally becoming real to me. I'd be taking my promise, and with any luck, Dimitri and I would finally be headed in the same direction. Together!

"I can't wait to be the first to congratulate the new Guardian Hathaway," Dimitri crooned shutting our door before lifting my shirt over my head then starting on my bra.


	55. Chapter 55

"Wake up, baby," Dimitri whispered as he kissed his way down my neck and across my décolletage.

"No! It's too early," I moaned, attempting to bury my head under the pillows.

"Please, ангел? It's your big day today, and I want to start it with a special breakfast."

I had to hand it to my man, if anyone knew the words to get me out of bed, it was him!

"I've got all your favorites!" he promised, capitalizing on my initial interest. I reluctantly opened an eye.

"Please, Roza? I have to share you with everyone else later today – I want this morning to be about us."

"This had better be good!" I growled, grabbing the oversized TShirt he offered, pulling it over my naked form and wandering out into the living room and across to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later I was showered and more awake. Back in our room, I looked at the small supply of clothing available to me.

"Sweats are fine," Dimitri chuckled. "It's just us."

He had a backpack already packed, so I slipped on some gym gear. He left a note for Eddie and Meredith telling them we'd gone out for breakfast and we'd be back at the suite by nine, and then we took off.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" I asked coyly.

"Somewhere special," is all Dimitri said, my hand in his as we walked to the trees near guest quarters.

We walked for maybe ten minutes before we arrived. I didn't even see it at first – Dimitri had to force his way through the undergrowth into a natural hollow between a ring of tightly knit trees. You literally wouldn't know it was here unless you were in it. On every side were trees; the immediate perimeter comprised of thick, large trunks. But in the center of the ten-foot space was a crater some four-foot below the rest of the forest floor.

"Ivan found this in his first year here," Dimitri explained without being asked. "When we became closer he showed it to me. When you're in here, it's almost impossible to be seen."

I looked around us. He had a point. The trees and their lower branches completely obscured the tiny clearing and valley between _them._

"I don't think anyone's been here since we graduated," Dimitri said with a nostalgic smile.

"You came here a lot?"

"It was our place to hang out," Dimitri explained. "Ivan was very social and confident, but he had dark times, too. This is where we came to talk things through."

"You were close."

"As close as you and Lissa," he confirmed, seating himself amongst the detritus from the trees before pulling me onto his lap. "Although we became friends later than you two. I guess I was his Guardian in a way even before he graduated."

"I wish I'd met him," I muttered as I cuddled against my man. It was stupid of me not to realize it before, but of course St. Basil's would remind Dimitri of his best friend and former charge. I'd never be able to see St. Vladimir's without thinking of Liss - it made sense it would be the same for him here.

"He would have loved you," Dimitri said with a sad grin. "He always used to say I was too serious - that I needed to live a little. Nothing would have made him happier than seeing me find love."

"I'm honored you're sharing your special place with me."

Dimitri gave me a shy smile.

"It was the best way I could think of to introduce you to him," he explained. "I feel close to him here, but so close to you, too. I wanted to bring you here so I could be with you both."

It hadn't been what I'd anticipated, but I was so honored to share this special place with him. With _them._

Dimitri opened the backpack, revealing some breakfast rolls with bacon and egg, each enclosed in a paper bag. He'd also scored us juice and, of course, chocolate doughnuts!

"When did you get all this?" I quizzed. He was there when I woke up.

"I slipped out while you were sleeping. I had to fight three students for the doughnuts," he joked, passing one over before I snatched it from his hand.

"I wuv wyo, wyo know that wight?" I told him, my mouth full of choc-glazed perfection.

"Yes Roza, I know that," he chuckled, taking a bite from a breakfast roll and watching me obliterate the first doughnut, then the second.

"So how is today going to run?" I asked, reaching for a breakfast roll to continue my feast.

"About 9.30 am the Novices will be called into the gym, and their Promise mark will be inked. They usually have four or five tattooists working at once as there's about two hundred taking their promise."

"Two _hundred?!"_ I gasped. I knew St. Basil's was larger than St. Vlad's, but not _that_ much bigger. But thinking about the dining hall, and the common room, the numbers made sense. At St. Vladimir's the Moroi outnumbered the Dhampir, but here it was the other way around.

"Yeah. That's why the inking is done first – there's too many to do them one by one the way St. Vlad's does. Once everyone is ready, the Novices join the Moroi in the auditorium. The Moroi graduate first, then the Novices take their promise as a group and graduate one by one, their training scores revealed."

"How are the training scores calculated?" I asked, starting to worry now. Would I even get a score?!

"Well, it's based on your trials as well as observations done by staff over the last month or two before graduation. Because you three have been training privately, I've had to record your progress. Pavel, Kirk and several of your father's Guardians have signed off on it, as well as some of the Guardians you fought at the gym in Baia. There are also reports for the three of you from Stan and your mother, and we've included your reports from your kills. That's what I was signing off on yesterday in Sokolov's office – your training records."

"So what's my training score!?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," he said with a shrug. "Sokolov and the other senior Guardians were going to meet and discuss what you, Eddie and Meredith should be awarded. But it will be high. All three of you have made kills, you've all got excellent reports from your mission, you have Queen's Badges which is unheard of for Novices, and the fights in the gym will count, too – especially the ones against Guardians."

"As long as I'm above the midline and beat Elizaveta I'll be happy."

"You really don't like her, do you?"

"Nope," I said popping the p. "You heard her last night. She's a bitch, and she hates me!"

"Well, she didn't further her own cause," he agreed. "Croft was impressed with your idea. You're right – that could save lives. You came out of that dinner looking like a strategic thinker. She looked like a petulant child."

I smirked, shifting over to lean against my Russian God's side, snuggling under his arm when he lifted it for me.

"So. Tell me more about Ivan," I asked, resting my head on Dimitri's shoulder. "You must be thinking a lot about him being back here?"

* * *

Standing in the gym with almost two hundred Novices was daunting. Thankfully I had Eddie and Meredith with me, and we quickly found the bunch of St. Vlad's students, so we huddled together as a group waiting for our names to be called. As Dimitri had foreshadowed, there were five tattooists working simultaneously, so they were getting through the crowd fast.

"You're not wearing that to graduation are you?" Chelsea asked wide-eyed taking in my sweats. "Not with the _Queen_ here!"

"No! Dimitri's family are arriving any minute with our graduation clothes," I replied. "Is Tatiana here?!"

"That's what we heard," Ryan confirmed. "We were crossing the commons to come here, and a heap of Guardians were racing around freaking out because Her Majesty had arrived for graduation!"

"Is that normal?"

"I'm not sure. One of the guys from St. Basil's said she's trying to make every graduation ceremony this year because of what happened at St. Vlad's."

I thought back to Lissa's graduation last week. Her Majesty had been at that one, but it had been at Court, so I hadn't given it any thought. I knew from Ryan that she'd been at the St. Christopher's ceremony yesterday, but somehow it hadn't occurred to me she'd be here today.

Before I had a chance to think about it further, my name was called, and I was directed to a Guardian at one of the inking stations. I sat on the stool in front of him, pulling my hair across so my neck was ready. He started to speak to me abruptly in Russian, but I had no idea what he was saying.

"Is there a problem?" I asked in English as I turned to look at him.

"Not right!" he barked in heavily accented English, turning over his shoulder and shouting something in Russian to another Guardian who was holding the clipboard and calling out names. The second Guardian came over, talking with the tattooist.

"Your name is Novice Rosemarie Hathaway from St. Vladimir's?" he checked.

I nodded. With his accent, it sounded like Rozzmeree, but I knew what he meant.

"And you have ten kills and a zvezda?"

"Yes. Guardian Oskey did my tenth yesterday," I confirmed, pointing over to where the Russian Guardian had just finished doing another Novice's promise mark.

Gesturing for me to stand up, I followed the Guardian with the clipboard over to Guardian Oskey.

"She has ten kills already?" he asked the Guardian tattooist, presumably speaking in English for my benefit.

"Yes. Sokolov said is right. I did tenth yesterday," Guardian Oskey confirmed in broken English.

"I'm sorry," clipboard guy said, turning to face me. "We're unused to giving Promise marks to those who already have kills. Please take a seat."

"Well, there are three others with kills being inked today," I said with a wry smile. "Eddison Castile and Meredith Edwards from St. Vlad's and Artyom Vitsin."

"Yes, I knew about Vitsin. Thank you for letting me know."

I moved my hair aside, and two minutes later I had my promise mark. It was as easy as that! I thought I'd feel different, but I didn't. In our early days of training, Dimitri had told me that the mark wasn't the significant part – it was promise that went with it. Yet I thought I'd feel more receiving the mark that permanently branded me as having devoted my life to serving Moroi.

"All done?" Eddie asked, draping his arm casually around me. I almost shrugged him off before I saw Elizaveta glowering at us where she waited for her name to be called.

"Done," I confirmed with a smile. "You?"

"Done. Just waiting for Meredith."

We stood together for a minute and then Meredith appeared beside us.

"Quick! Let's get back to the suite. We need to change before the ceremony," Meredith said clearly panicked. "If Her Majesty is here, I want to look my best!"

I laughed. We had half an hour – that was plenty of time. But with a final sarcastic wave at Elizaveta, I let Eddie lead me from the gym, waiting until we were out of sight before I shrugged off his arm.

* * *

"Do I look alright?" I asked, stepping out of the room I was sharing with Dimitri in guest quarters. Baba, Yeva, Olena, Karolina, Sonya, Viktoria, Paul, and Zoya were there along with Pavel, Kirk, and Chaung. It was basically standing room only in our small suite!

In a nod to my femininity, I'd decided to wear an A-line black skirt, black heels, and a white silky tank top. I was worried whether it was 'right,' but with my limited choices, it would have to do.

Dimitri had warned us the custom at St. Basil's was for Novices to wear normal clothing but in black and white to graduation, so Eddie, Meredith and I had packed accordingly. Eddie was sorted in black pants and a white button up. Meredith was wearing black pants, too, but like me had opted for a more feminine blouse.

"You all look lovely," Olena assured us, making us line up for photos together. Dimitri was wearing his Guardian dress uniform for the ceremony, and I had to admit a stirring in my loins when I saw him all dressed up, hair back, clean shaven and in a starched uniform. He was hot hot hot!

After taking photos of the three and then the four of us, Olena took another few of just Dimitri and I. Even in my heels, I had to tilt my head back as far as I could, and he lean down in order for our lips to meet. I slipped my arms around his neck, and he snaked his around my waist, and for just a moment it was only he and I.

"Beautiful!" Olena declared, looking at the display on the back of her camera.

"It's time," Abe declared, glancing at his watch.

* * *

"All Novices rise and repeat after me..." Tatiana intoned, saying the words which would forever bind my peers and me to be Guardians. And I might not have felt it when I was inked, but I felt every bit of my obligation now.

We were seated on the stage facing the audience. We were all lined up, but with the lights on us, I couldn't see Dimitri, Abe or the Belikovas in the audience. However, I smiled knowing they were out there. We were sorted alphabetically, so I wasn't close to anyone I knew, but I blinked my tears away, presenting a hopeful smile to the audience in front of me, smiling as little flashes from cameras popped from all across the audience.

Our promise made, Guardian Sokolov started calling us alphabetically across the stage. It was all St. Basil's graduates until Ryan.

"Novice Ryan Aylesworth from St. Vladimir's Academy," Sokolov called out. Ryan stood and walked across to stand in front of Her Majesty. He'd been right. She was here to see us across the stage! He bowed, and she nodded her head imperiously.

"Congratulations, Guardian Aylesworth. A training score of sixty-nine," Sokolov declared, shaking Ryan's hand then handing him the customary box of stakes – the ultimate declaration that a Novice was now a Guardian.

Sixty-nine wasn't high, but it wasn't that low, either. It was the lowest, so far, but anything in the sixties was ok. At St. Vlad's, at least.

The next few names were all people I didn't know, and I was relieved to hear a St. Basil's score of sixty-six. And then Sokolov called Eddie.

I had a huge grin on my face as I watched one of my oldest friends confidently cross the stage. Like Ryan, he stood in front of our Queen, bowing deferentially before waiting for his score.

"Congratulations, Guardian Castile. A training score of eighty-six." Sokolov shook Eddie's hand and then passed him his stakes.

I was bouncing in my seat in excitement, cheering along with many others. Eighty-six was a _phenomenal_ score, and by far the highest one so far. I couldn't be prouder of him!

I didn't know any of the next few graduates, and then Meredith was called. Like Eddie, she walked across the stage, doing the obligatory curtsey for Her Majesty before standing proudly to hear her fate.

"Congratulations, Guardian Edwards. A training score of eighty-three."

I squealed every bit as loud for Meredith as I had for Eddie, watching her receive her stakes.

It was only a few Novices later when I was called.

"Novice Rosemarie Hathaway from St. Vladimir's Academy."

I walked across the stage, pausing in front of the Queen, doing the anticipated curtsey and turning to face Guardian Sokolov expectantly.

"Congratulations, Guardian Hathaway. This year's top Novice with a training score of ninety-six."

I shook his hand, too stunned to actually take it in. And then I took my stakes, walking back to my seat in a daze. I was vaguely aware of the cheers from the audience and my peers, but it was taking most of my effort to just keep walking.

Back in my seat, I was conscious the cheering for me was longer than for the other candidates. I guess because of being top Novice?

I sat back and schooled my face into an attentive expression, cheering and clapping for those yet to receive their stakes as they had their moment on the stage. Finally, almost at the end, the twins were called. Artyom took his stakes, and a training score of eighty-six; the same as Eddie. I watched him walk back to his seat. Then I was holding my breath as Elizaveta graduated with a score of eighty-one. I was vocal in my clapping and cheering, but mostly because Meredith and I had both beaten her! Of course, I knew as top Novice I had, but I was thrilled Meredith had, too!

Only a few Novices more, and we were done. Guardian Sokolov had a few concluding remarks, and then the ceremony was over, the doors to the rear and side of the auditorium opened so the graduates and their guests could spill out into the shaded Courtyard.

Eddie was the first to get to me, scooping me up and spinning me around in the air jubilantly. He'd just put me down when Meredith joined us, and the three of us hugged as a group.

"I knew you could do it!" Eddie announced triumphantly. "A _St. Vlad's_ student topping the St. Basil's graduation! Ha! You'll be able to get any allocation you want!"

"Congratulations, Rose!" Meredith said with a genuinely happy smile. "You deserve that!"

"You did great, too!" I replied, giving her a high five as we laughed. She knew what I was getting at!

With quick congratulations to the others from St. Vladimir's we walked to the side of the stage, keen to get outside to see our well-wishers.

"Congratulations, Guardian Hathaway." I looked up, and it was Artyom.

I gave him a big smile. "Congratulations Guardian Vitsin," I said, allowing him to give me a small kiss on the cheek. He tried to linger but I quickly pulled away, and he went to repeat the motion with Meredith before shaking Eddie's hand.

"And you also, Guardian Vitsin!" I continued giving Elizaveta a big shit-eating grin. She didn't even pretend to be pleased to see us.

"You don't deserve to be top Novice. It should have been Artyom, and everyone here knows it," she spat spitefully at me.

"Veta! That's not true! Rose has more kills and faced more Strigoi in her trial. Don't insult her achievements," Artyom said in a pained voice.

"You could have done that if you had a rich as hell Daddy buying you every opportunity. He probably paid off Guardian Sokolov to buy her a better score!"

I was pretty sure he hadn't, but now she mentioned it, it was the sort of thing Abe would do!

"I'm sorry you feel that way," I said with as much dignity as I could muster. "Congratulations to you both. If you'll excuse me, there are people waiting to see us."

I stalked off down the stairs and out the side of the auditorium.

"Artyom was happy for you," Meredith commented, leaving out the other half of the equation – that Elizaveta wasn't!

The three of us were laughing, finding our way to the large courtyard where everyone had congregated. Servers were making their way through the crowd with punch and sandwiches, Moroi and Guardian graduates were milling around, talking with their family and friends.

It took me a moment to find Dimitri amongst the crowd, but his height was of assistance. I could see the back of his head, his hair still neatly in a ponytail. The three of pushed our way through the crowd until we were night next to the group.

"Well hello, little Dhampir! Or should that be little Guardian, now? Congratulations!" a familiar voice greeted me.

My eyes widened, and I gasped. There standing with Abe, his Guardians, Dimitri, and his family were Adrian, Lissa, Christian, Celeste, and _Tasha._


	56. Chapter 56

"Oh my God! What are you guys doing here?" I asked in complete shock.

"When Her Majesty mentioned she was coming to graduation here in Russia, Adrian suggested we tag along! We checked out Edinburgh yesterday while she was at St. Christopher's, and we arrived here just before your graduation this morning!" Lissa squealed, throwing her arms around me. "I couldn't miss your big day!"

I plastered a smile on my face, returning her enthusiastic hug, before accepting a hug and a kiss from Adrian and congratulations from Christian and Tasha. It hadn't escaped my attention that Tasha was standing beside my man, and was trying to attract his attention.

"Excuse me, Tasha. I have some new colleagues to congratulate," he said not even turning to look at her. Instead, his eyes were focused on Meredith, Eddie and I.

He went to Eddie first, shaking his hand.

"Congratulations, Guardian Castile. You've done yourself proud."

"Thanks for all your help, big guy," Eddie joked, but we could all see how touched he was.

"Guardian Edwards," Dimitri continued, smiling and leaning down to give Meredith a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You've also done a great job."

"Thank you, Guardian Belikov. For everything."

Pulling back from her, Dimitri's eyes met mine.

"I made it, Comrade!" I said, reaching my arms around his neck as he leaned to kiss my cheek.

"You did good," he said tenderly, his lips lingering on my cheek.

"All thanks to you," I said, getting a little teary. Even though Dimitri's congratulations had been gatecrashed by the unexpected arrival of my friends, it was still a special moment for us. This was the first time he'd held me when I wasn't his student, or under his tutelage. From here on out, I was a Guardian and his equal.

"Congratulations, Guardian Hathaway," he said softly. "I am so proud of you."

We embraced for just a moment longer, and then we reluctantly let go of each other.

"Alright, stop hogging them, Belikov," Abe blustered, shaking hands with Meredith and Eddie before scooping me into a hug. After that, we received our congratulations from Dimitri's family, the Guardians and our friends.

"I've got luncheon prepared in my suite if you'd like to join us?" Abe asked Lissa and the others after all the various introductions had been made. Meredith was quietly conversing with Sonya, and when they'd finished, I could see Sonya say something to Karolina before the latter pulled Paul aside to whisper something in his ear. Karolina then went over to her mother and grandmother to speak with them and Viktoria. It was probably about Lissa and the others not knowing about Dimitri and I if I had to hazard a guess.

"We'd love to!" Adrian answered on behalf of the newcomers, giving me a smirk. The asshole was enjoying this!

Lissa looped her arm through mine, and I followed her to my father's suite in stunned silence, listening to her excited talk about how careful she'd been not to think about the trip, and how she'd been fretting I might pop in on her and ruin the surprise.

"I'd hoped you'd be too busy the couple of days before graduation to check in," she explained, elated their arrival had been a true bombshell.

I could see Dimitri walking slightly ahead of us. He was talking with his mother, but Tasha was like an annoying little terrier nipping at his heels, constantly vying for his attention.

Once inside his suite, Abe took over, playing the part of gracious host perfectly. Of course, Baba being Baba, the buffet spread was extensive and plentiful. I could see why the addition of an extra five people for lunch was of no concern. That's assuming their presence _was_ a surprise to him.

"Liss – I just need to ask Dad something," I said, squeezing her arm before sidling over to Abe.

"Did you know they were coming?" I hissed, my lips barely moving.

"No fucking idea," he said, and I knew he wasn't lying. "She just won't leave him alone, will she?" he commented, his eyes resting on Tasha where she was yet again trying to ingratiate her way into Dimitri's conversation.

"I know. I can't just go over there and stake my claim, though. Not until I tell Lissa."

He nodded, a devious twinkle in his eye.

Abe gestured to some serving staff I'd just noticed in the small kitchen, and next thing I knew, champagne coupes were being passed out amongst everyone gathered, except for Paul, Zoya, and Viktoria – much to the latter's disgust.

Abe dinged the side of his with a spoon a couple of times to get everyone's attention.

"Now Natasha," he started blessing her with one of his devilish, toothy smiles. "I want you to remember that the drinking age in Russia is _eighteen_ , not twenty-one, so we can let these young people here enjoy their celebrations today. Us oldies can't claim _all_ the fun!" he joked.

"Oh Abe – I'm almost their age," Tasha replied with a simpering smile.

"Of course you are!" he boomed. "You barely look a day over twenty-one." He paused, for comedic effect before he added, "and neither do I!"

We all laughed, although Tasha's was admittedly forced. She _didn't_ appreciate the dig about her age!

"Seriously though," Abe pushed on before things could get awkward, "I am so very proud to be here today to celebrate the achievements of three wonderful young people. As you all know, I was late coming into Rose's life, but I could not be more delighted with the young woman I found to be my daughter. And through Rose, I met her delightful schoolmates and friends, Eddison and Meredith."

He paused to nod fondly to the three of us.

"It's said a lot can be told about someone by the company they keep, so I shouldn't be surprised to find my daughter in the company of two such dedicated, intelligent and genuine people. It's been a joy getting to know you both and to play a small part at the start of your careers. Can I propose a toast to our new Guardians - Castile, Edwards, and Hathaway!"

Everyone responded to the toast, and Abe waved his hand commandingly, the servers responding by topping up the glasses.

"All that said, we wouldn't be here today without the hard work of one particular man. In my line of business you learn to judge someone pretty quickly, and it's rare that I am wrong. My first impression of Belikov was that he was a man with good ethics and integrity. The sort of man you could rely upon and trust. I am happy to report that as I've got to know him better over these last few months, that's been exactly what he's proven to be. Not only has he guided my precious girl and her friends and prepared them for their trials and careers, but he and his family have opened their hearts and home to welcome them. I'm not a man who likes to owe a favor, but I am truly indebted to Dimitri, Olena and your family for doing everything you have for Rose, Eddison, and Meredith. Please know you have my sincere thanks. To the Belikovs!"

My love nodded in acknowledgment, and at that moment the final bit of animosity between Baba and Dimitri disappeared.

We toasted again. Gesturing once more, glasses were refreshed, and Abe started in on what I hoped was the last toast. Otherwise, I was going to end up shitfaced!

"Finally I'd like to thank friends and classmates for making such a long, arduous trip to surprise these three today. It says a lot about the depth of your feelings that you're here to support our new Guardians on their special day. I'd also like to acknowledge my Guardians and staff who've consistently gone above and beyond, with often little notice, to make all the necessary arrangements for me to be here with my little girl over the last few months. I know it's been stressful at times, and I appreciate your hard work and contributions. Please join me in a final toast – to friends, family, and devotion."

I was standing opposite Dimitri, and our eyes locked as we repeated Abe's toast. They weren't just words to us; it was also a promise.

* * *

"I'm going to take Abe, Mama, and the others on a tour of campus," Dimitri remarked to Eddie, Meredith, Celeste, Adrian, Lissa, Christian and I as we were standing around talking after lunch. "Did you want to come?"

"I'd love to tour the campus," Tasha purred from beside him. She'd been following him around ever since she first saw him, so I wasn't surprised.

"Liss – I can show you around later. How about you come back to my suite, and we can catch up? Celeste – she'll be safe with me here on campus," I said, not too subtly suggesting I wanted time alone with Lissa.

"Sure thing, Guardian Hathaway," Celeste said shooting me a grin. "I wouldn't mind checking out the lay of the land."

"I'm going to join the St. Vlad's guys in the common room. Their families aren't here, so they're at a loose end," Eddie said.

"I'll join you," Meredith added, getting the memo.

"Seen one campus, you've seen them all," Adrian replied laconically. "I'd like to catch up with Rose, too."

"I don't remember inviting you!" I said sarcastically. "Go find something else to do, Adrian."

"I'm wounded, little Dhampir. But I suppose you have lots to tell Lissa. Lot's of _big_ things I should imagine," he said looking at Dimitri.

"Well whoever's coming, we're leaving now," Dimitri interjected. Adrian did end up going with the group for a tour, and I could only hope Abe and Dimitri would keep him and his none too subtle comments away from Tasha!

Christian didn't make a move to join the others, so I guess he was going to join me when I told Lissa. That mightn't be such a bad idea, come to think of it.

"Come on you two – I'll take you back to my suite," I said with a feeling of dread. I'd known I was going to have to tell Lissa, but I thought I'd had a few more days, yet. But now she was here I couldn't put it off any longer - I was on my way to telling her my biggest secret - I could only hope she'd understand.

Our suite was close to Abe's, so I let us in, gesturing to the sofas before hovering and asking if anyone wanted tea or coffee.

"I'm fine," Lissa said breezily. "I'm so excited about the Ball tonight! I'm going to wear the same dress I did for my Graduation! No one here has seen it," she tinkled happily. It took her a moment to notice my silence and to sense something was wrong.

"Rose?"

"Liss," I said, sinking onto the sofa opposite. "There's something I need to tell you…"

"Is how no good conversation ever starts," Christian joked. He was worried, too, and was falling back on humor.

"Bite me, fireboy!" I snapped. Oops! Probably not my best move, given I was about to suggest being his Guardian.

"What is it?" Lissa asked looking at me warily.

I leaned forward and took her hand in mine. I was getting distracted by the thoughts bombarding me through the bond. Her biggest fear was that I was sick.

"I'm not sick," I replied to her question without thinking.

"Then what?" she asked.

"Lissa, I'm seeing someone. And it's serious."

"You've met someone?" she asked in surprise. I could feel she was wondering why I was so worried to tell her this, and why I hadn't told her previously.

"I've known him a while, actually…"

"Oh, my! Of course! You and Eddie! You two make an _adorable_ couple! I should have seen it before – you two have been friends forever, and I know you've become closer since Spokane."

I shook my head. Liss had gone from zero to full throttle and was already picturing Eddie and me together.

"It's not Eddie!" I snapped raising my voice slightly.

She stopped and looked at me.

"If not Eddie, then who?"

I winced and closed my eyes. Going with the band-aid approach, I blurted it straight out.

"It's Dimitri, Liss. I'm with Dimitri."

I opened my eyes to peek at her. She was surprised. In fact, she was every bit as stunned by my revelation as I had been by her unexpected appearance earlier in the day.

"Surprise?" I joked lamely, waiting for her to say something.

"Guardian Belikov, Dimitri?"

"Guardian Belikov," I nodded as she corralled her thoughts into a semblance of order.

"When? How long?" she asked.

"A while."

"In Baia?"

I nodded.

"On your mission?"

I nodded again.

"Back at the _Academy?!"_

I shrugged. "Only a little bit."

The thoughts through the bond were flying thick and fast. Noticing a bit of darkness, I pulled it into me. The _last_ thing I needed was that compounding her already hurt feelings.

"Tell me everything," she said in a shaky voice.

And so I did. I started at the beginning, explaining the attraction and how I initially thought it was one-sided. The Equinox Dance, the humiliation of coming so close to giving myself to Dimitri, only to have him tell me afterward that he didn't feel that way about me. Finding out days later he _did_ feel the same way, but that we couldn't act on it. I told her about Christmas, about Tasha's offer and about telling Dimitri he should take it.

"But he didn't. Because of you?"

"He said he knew he couldn't feel about her the way he felt about me, so he turned her down."

"And that's when you got together?"

"No. He was my mentor, Liss. He would have been fired. I would have been expelled. We just pretended like it wasn't there. But it was, and it just kept growing."

"So when?"

"The night of the attack on campus. After Jesse and the Mana thing, I was off my head on darkness. Alberta had Dimitri take me away, so I didn't kill Jesse. He took me to a cabin on the edge of campus, and he had to physically restrain me to stop me going after Jesse. It took hours to calm me down. I was so scared, and he was holding me tight – telling me he'd always be there for me. That he loved me. And that's when."

"And then the rescue happened. That's why you went back for him."

I nodded.

"I love him, Lissa. And he loves me. We want to be together."

She was taking a minute to digest all this. Christian was sitting beside her, silent, giving her the chance to process.

"So who knows?"

"Meredith and Eddie. Adrian suspected from our auras. Baba knows, and so does Dimitri's family." I didn't mention Christian, and I was careful not to meet Lissa's eyes.

"And you couldn't tell _me?!"_

"It all just happened so fast, Liss. By the time I knew it, I was on the mission, and I wasn't even sure what was going on between Dimitri and me. Then we came to Court, and I wanted to tell you, really I did, but then we were being sent to St. Michael's, and Abe stepped in, and we were coming over here. I didn't want to tell you on the phone, and Dimitri and I also had to work out how serious we were then how to juggle being Guardians and being together."

Lissa cocked her head to the side the way she did when she was working through a thought.

"We can't both be your Guardians, Liss," I spelled out. "One of us would be on days, the other nights. We'd literally _never_ get time off at the same time. If he and I want to give our relationship a go, one of us needs to guard someone else."

"Someone who would be close by at Lehigh," she said connecting the dots. "You want Dimitri to guard Christian."

She didn't sound happy or sad about the idea, and it was hard to get a read on her emotions.

"That was one idea," I admitted. "However, I know Tasha still has feelings for Dimitri. She'd be hurt if Dimitri was willing to give up guarding you to guard Christian, but not do that for her. Dimitri and I have talked about it, and I thought maybe _I_ could guard Christian."

No one said anything for a moment, so I continued.

"As I've got closer to becoming a Guardian, I've been thinking about what that means. You're already my best friend and my bond mate, Liss. I worry that if I add Guardian to that, it's going to be too much. For both of us! It's too hard to switch between being your protector and your best friend. I thought if I guarded Christian, then it would give us both space. We'd all still be together, but it means I can worry about you as my bestie, not as my charge. That's assuming Christian is willing to accept me as his Guardian," I quickly added.

"And if he isn't?"

"Then I don't know where that leaves us. I don't want to have to choose between you and Dimitri. I love you, and you're my sister. But I love him, Lissa. I love him more than I even knew was possible."

I could see her reach a decision in her head. She was angry and hurt, but she chose to push those feelings aside.

"I'm happy for you, Rose. You deserve love," she said tears welling in her eyes as she pulled me into a hug. "I hope he treats you well."

"He does, Liss. He treats me wonderfully, and we're so happy together. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier - it's been eating me up inside," I admitted, relieved beyond words I'd finally spilled the beans.

* * *

"I can't believe how big this place is! I can't wait to come here next year!" Paul said bouncing into our suite, followed by the rest of the family plus Tasha and Celeste. They'd lost Abe and Adrian somewhere along the way.

"I'll worry about you," Karolina admitted, fondly petting her eldest's head while bouncing Zoya on her hip.

"I'll look after him," Viktoria promised.

There was a weird tension in the room. Lissa, Christian and I had been talking, me filling her in about Baia and more about Dimitri and me when the others returned.

"So are you going to the Graduation Ball tonight?" Olena asked Lissa politely, filling the silence.

"Well I brought a dress, so I might as well," she replied. "Rose and I always dreamed of graduating together," she continued, squeezing my hand. "This is part of that!"

"Make sure you take lots of photos, Vika," Olena said turning to her youngest daughter.

"I will Mama," she promised.

There was another awkward pause. Lissa was looking curiously between Dimitri and me, and I was trying to let him know with my eyes that I'd told her.

Olena picked up on the tension, "Viktoria? We need to get going. Mr. Mazur said he'd have the van downstairs at 3 pm. There's plenty of room, so it's a good chance to send back your end of year things."

"Thanks, Mama! I have a _lot_ of washing to send home," she admitted with a cheeky grin.

"Of course you do," Sonya groaned rolling her eyes. "My feet are killing me – let's get going! Rose – good luck with tonight and the fights – knock them dead!" she said, rubbing her back then hugging me.

"Thanks, Sonya. One way or the other, I'll see you Thursday!"

After that, it was hugs and goodbyes all around.

"Don't you let her frighten you," Yeva whispered into my ear when she hugged and kissed both cheeks. "And remember people are watching. Rise above, and I promise you, all will be well."

"Thanks, Babushka." I hugged her hard against me. In a few short weeks, I'd grown to love and trust Dimitri's grandmother!

"Excuse me; I'll just see my family to the van. Paul? Come help carry your Aunt Vika's things." He didn't _say_ he wanted a moment alone with his family, but the message came across nonetheless.

Great. I was left here with Lissa, Christian, and Tasha, Celeste standing at ease inside the door to the suite.

"So… Did you three have a nice catch-up?" Tasha asked awkwardly.

I didn't know what to say, so I waited for Lissa to respond.

"Yeah. Just the usual gossip. It's been _ages_ since we've had a chance to talk face to face! _Anyway,_ weshould get back to our suite," she suggested, standing and Christian doing likewise. "The dance starts in a few hours, and we all need to get ready!"

"Oh, you're coming, too?" I asked Tasha, trying to be polite.

"Yes," she said with a coy smile. "I have a _very_ special night planned!"


	57. Chapter 57

I could hear voices outside in the living room. Dimitri's deep, soulful timbre, as well as the intonation of female and male tones. Listening carefully, I could discern Eddie, Adrian, Christian, Lissa, and Tasha as well as Abe.

We'd arranged to meet at our suite, Meredith and I helping each other get ready in her room. I suspect Lissa was disappointed I hadn't gone to get ready with her, but she was staying in a suite with Christian and Tasha, and I _really_ didn't want to share my preparations with scarface.

"You go first!" I hissed to Meredith. I wanted to get a lay of the land before I stepped out.

Had Lissa said anything to Tasha? Was I going to be able to step into Dimitri's arms as his partner, or would we keep up the illusion there was nothing more than camaraderie between us? We'd already decided not to openly be a couple at the ball - both of us feeling it was dangerous to disclose our relationship publically when I'd only been a Guardian for a few hours. Far better to wait until the allocations had been decided.

I stepped back as Meredith opened the door to her room and emerged.

"Guardian Edwards, you look wonderful," Abe said solicitously, stepping forward to embrace her and kiss her on both cheeks before passing her across to her escort. Peeking through the door jamb, I was happy to see Eddie compliment her liberally. The two of them looked so handsome together.

"Is my daughter in there?" Abe teased, pretending to peek around the door and setting the scene for my reveal.

It had taken Meredith and me an hour to do my hair and makeup. An elegant upstyle, it was deceptive in its simplicity. Miroslava had stressed that less was more – and that I would look my most alluring if I held back a little.

"I am, Baba," I said, stepping into the doorway clutching my small evening bag, letting everyone see me. If I had hoped for a reaction, I wasn't disappointed.

"Darling! You are a vision," Abe said reverently, giving no indication he'd already seen me in the dress at my final fitting. He took my hand and twirled me before kissing both my cheeks.

"You have to say that! You're my dad!" I giggled.

I could blame the bottle of champagne Abe had sent for Meredith and me to enjoy as we'd dressed, but that wasn't the cause of my excitement. Dimitri's smoldering gaze was solely responsible for _that!_

He looked at me like I was the only source of light in a place of deepest darkness. All his hopes and cares were held within his eyes. I'd never felt more beautiful, or more admired than I did at that moment. Abe carefully passed my hand across to my Russian God who, honestly, was still staring. Not that I was any better. If Dimitri in his uniform was hot, Dimitri in a _suit_ was even hotter!

He slipped his arm around me, his large palm resting on the small of my back. Neither of us said anything as we stood facing one another, our eyes locked saying what words couldn't.

"Rose you look so beautiful," Lissa said breaking the silence, and I felt the smallest pang of envy through the bond. But my caring friend recognized she'd had many moments to shine, and this was pretty much a first for me, so as I turned to her she swallowed her jealousy and stepped forward to air-kiss my cheek.

"I haven't said anything to Tasha," she said quietly enough that no one else would catch it.

"Thanks, Liss," I said – ostensibly responding to her first comment.

"You _girls_ look just adorable," Tasha said in a voice that was manifestly condescending. "Adrian? I'm sure you won't mind escorting such a lovely looking girl to the dance," she said gesturing to where I stood with Dimitri's arm still wrapped around me. "Dimka? Since we're both going solo, I thought we could go together tonight?"

It was an awkward moment. Everyone in the room seemed to understand Dimitri was my escort. Well - other than Tasha that is.

"Sorry, Tash," he said, barely looking at her. "Rose is my partner tonight."

"But I'd be delighted to escort you, Lady Ozera," Adrian said gallantly, stepping forward and offering his arm with just the smallest smirk. Tasha accepted it reluctantly, but we all knew it wasn't the start to the evening she'd hoped for.

Pavel and Emil were standing silently on either side of the door like a pair of matching bookends. I gave them both a tentative smile, surprised to see the latter respond. Vika and Paul were there, too, the former taking the photos Olena had demanded. I was glad for the distraction – it gave me time to take in the scene in front of me.

Baba looked surprisingly normal in a black evening suit. He still had one of his trademark scarves on, but even that wasn't in its usual retina burning hue. Adrian also looked debonair in his suit, a waistcoat in emerald green bringing out the color of his eyes.

I'd nearly choked when I saw what Tasha had chosen to wear. She'd obviously intended to create an impression, and in what she'd selected, she'd certainly do _that!_

Her dress had two parts – a sequined halter neck top in blues and greens, the fabric was open in a deep V all the way to her waist where it joined a wide yoke. The bottom of the dress was a deep blue and ankle length but had two large slits, one over each leg. Even standing naturally, the fabric gaped, exposing her long slim legs all the way up to her _hips_. When she walked or danced, I imagined the display would be even more… extreme.

She was slim enough to carry the dress off, even if the top did show what she _didn't_ have more than what she _did_. She'd finished the look off with a fake tan, heavy makeup and her hair out in a tousled, sexy style. She'd gone for blatant sex appeal, and the overall effect was certainly very different to how the rest of our party was attired! The sad thing is, I'm sure she'd spent a lot of time and money attempting to look that cheap.

"Thanks for partnering her tonight," I said in an undertone to Adrian as Lissa, Christian, and Tasha were busy being photographed by Vika.

"My pleasure, little Dhampir," he said with a rueful smile. "If I can't shock Aunt Tati by turning up with _you_ as my date, the second best thing is turning up with someone who's dressed like a tabletop dancer!"

I elbowed him in the ribs playfully, but I couldn't suppress a small snigger. Trust Adrian to come out and say what everyone else was thinking!

Lissa looked pretty in her jade green dress. It was empire line, with ruching over the chest, and made the most of her slim, pretty figure. But it was nothing compared to my gown. Miroslava's words were coming back to me, and I saw what she meant about not looking like a girl at her first dance _or_ showing off too much skin. I should never have doubted her.

"Rose you are the most breathtaking woman I have ever seen," Dimitri whispered admiringly into my ear as we stood side by side waiting for the final photographs to be taken. I smiled at him sweetly. I didn't want anyone's approval but his – and the look of wonder and desire in his eyes when he'd seen me had been all I needed to know.

By the time Vika had photographed us in every possible combination, it was 7.30 pm and time for us to make our way down to the auditorium. Paul would be staying on the sofa in our suite tonight, so Vika was going to hang out with him and watch TV until we returned. He should be well asleep by then, but we didn't want to leave him alone in a place where he was unfamiliar.

Bidding them goodnight, Dimitri helped me down the long corridor, steadying me as we approached the stairs and lift.

"Sorry – there's no way I'll be able to manage four flights in five-inch heels," I explained apologetically to the assembled company.

We were waiting an age for the elevator – people on the lower floors claiming it before it had a chance to reach us on the upper floor.

"This is ridiculous," Dimitri muttered after we'd been waiting a few minutes. "Rose – put your arms around my neck. I'll carry you down!"

Without any further warning, my Russian God scooped me up into his arms, effortlessly holding me bridal style across his chest. I couldn't help a giggle as my man easily negotiated the stairs, our companions following in our wake. I thought it was very sweet and romantic, and by the scowl on Tasha's face, she thought so, too! Her heels were every bit as high as mine, yet no one offered to assist her.

"Thank you, Dimitri," I said a little breathlessly when he carefully set me back on my feet on the ground floor.

"My pleasure, Rose," he replied, his sensuous lips caressing my name. His eyes dropped to my lips, and I could tell he wanted to kiss me, but we held back.

"Let's get this show on the road," Tasha snapped once she reached the last step, a distinct frostiness in her voice. "And next time, Rose, if you can't walk in the shoes, _don't wear them!"_

Meredith lifted an eyebrow, and Eddie's eyes widened slightly at the not so subtle rebuke. But I smiled, watching as Tasha walked off in front of us, teetering on her own very high heels and clutching Adrian's arm to steady herself.

The courtyard where we'd had punch and sandwiches earlier in the day was lit with pretty fairy lights, and groups of Moroi and Dhampir in their finery were greeting one another happily. Inside the auditorium had been transformed from a graduation area into a beautiful dance space complete with a live band. Waiters were wandering around with trays filled with champagne and canapés.

"We should say hello to Aunt Tatiana," Adrian said, snagging a couple of flutes of champagne, passing one to Tasha. "Get it over and done with."

"Would you like champagne, ангел?" Dimitri asked, bending so his lips were close to my ear.

"Maybe a little later." We were going up to greet the Queen, and she would no doubt be surrounded by important people. Despite not yet being allocated, I didn't want to be seen with a glass in my hand as soon as I arrived. It didn't give a favorable impression.

We followed Adrian to a small raised area to one side where Her Majesty was seated, flanked by Guardians Sokolov and Croft as well as her Imperial Guard. The first two stood as our group approached. Adrian, Tasha, Lissa, Christian and Abe at the front, Eddie, Meredith, Dimitri and I standing a respectful distance behind with the on-duty Guardians Pavel and Emil.

"Adrian!" Tatiana greeted enthusiastically, smiling at her favorite nephew. I saw her take in Tasha's attire, and while not a muscle on her face changed, something in her eyes suggested she, too, found the display unseemly.

"Tasha," she said coolly before continuing to give more friendly greetings to Lissa and Christian.

"Abe," she said, pretending to notice my father for the first time, although I saw her place him the moment we'd walked up.

"Your Majesty," Abe said, approaching where she sat, taking her hand and kissing it while bowing deeply. It had the look of a long familiar move – part of a game where they both knew their parts well.

"Your beauty and charm only increase with every passing year," he said solicitously.

"As your tongue grows ever glibber," she retorted facetiously.

"You wound me, Tatiana," he said with a surprising degree of familiarity. But he wasn't offended. They sounded like two old friends. She gestured behind him, acknowledging us for the first time.

"And your daughter, I'm led to believe? Graduate of the year? You must be very proud," she continued, beckoning Dimitri and me forward where I curtseyed, and he bowed.

"She has her mother's talent," Abe explained.

"Lucky she has her looks, too," Tatiana joked fondly to Abe in an undertone. "Congratulations, dear," she said in a louder voice to me. "Such an achievement."

"Thank you, Ma'am," I replied.

"And these are your mission companions? Belikov? Castile? Edwards?"

I had to hand it to her – nothing got past Tatiana – but I was surprised she could so readily recall their names.

"That's right. Equal second and third-ranked graduates," I said proudly, not missing the opportunity to voice my friends' achievements. "And we were all trained by Guardian Belikov, so it's thanks to him we've done so well."

"Then it seems celebrations are in order," she said graciously, waving a server forward with a tray of glasses. Adrian and Tasha were already finishing their second drinks and replaced them with fresh glasses. The rest of us took flutes when bidden. When your monarch proposed a toast, you complied!

"To new beginnings," Tatiana toasted, raising her glass.

We repeated her words, and while Adrian and Tasha downed their glasses in one or two gulps, the rest of us sipped demurely.

"Excuse me, Auntie," Adrian drawled after we'd endured a little more small talk. "The band is starting, and if I'm going to keep up with this _vixen_ , I need to have some food before we start to dance! I'm sure many of the men here are dying to witness such an…" he paused, as though fumbling for a word – but Adrian was hardly pissed enough for his urbane façade to falter this early in the evening, " _attractive_ woman dance!"

He gave his great-aunt, our monarch, a wicked grin; and the only one who didn't appreciate Adrian was enjoying the spectacle he was creating was his scar-faced, barely clad escort. Tasha grabbed and downed a fourth flute of champagne, and artlessly handed her empty glass to a surprised Guardian Sokolov before allowing Adrian to drag her off toward a server distributing hors-d'oeuvres.

"What an unusual woman," Sokolov commented sardonically, watching Tasha as she walked away.

* * *

"I could seriously spend all evening this way," I cooed happily as I was safely back in Dimitri's arms, letting him lead me around the dance floor. While we'd had as many dances together as we could, he'd had to relinquish me to my father, Guardian Sokolov, Eddie, Ryan, Christian, Adrian, and Artyom. Likewise, I'd had to bear him dancing with Meredith, Elizaveta, Lissa, Celeste, Chelsea, and more often than I'd like, Tasha.

I'd been dancing with Abe when she first managed to score a song with my man, and her attempts to cozy up to him were as unapologetic as they were blatant. I wanted to go over there and knock her block off, but Baba promised me he'd do his best to keep her busy.

After that, Abe's Guardians, and a series of lecherous Moroi men had mostly kept Tasha occupied on the dance floor, yet much to my chagrin she'd still managed to get away and locate Dimitri more than once.

"I'm sorry, Roza," Dimitri crooned as he held me as close as propriety allowed. "Please don't let Tasha ruin this evening for us. I'll speak with her again tomorrow and tell her about us. She needs to know I'm taken and that this behavior needs to stop."

"She does," I agreed, smiling at him amiably. I wasn't going to let Tasha sour my mood. After all, I was the one cradled in Dimitri's arms, and I'd be going home with him later tonight, too. "What were you and Lissa talking about?"

They'd shared consecutive dances, and had been deep in conversation the whole time.

"You didn't listen in?" he asked, referring to my ability to slip into Lissa's head at will.

"I was tempted, but you know – five-inch heels dancing backward in a long dress - it doesn't go well with tuning out. I didn't want to kill myself!"

He chuckled.

"She was quizzing me about us. She wanted to know if I really loved you, and that I planned to stick by you."

"What did you say?" I gasped, wishing I'd sat the dance out and focused on their little chat.

"I told her no man tells Zmey they're in love with his daughter unless they plan to stay with the girl or part with their manhood."

I tittered. Dimitri wasn't typically so forthright, and it was hard to imagine my conservative man saying that to my equally conservative best friend, but he had a point.

"And you? You and Christian were deep in conversation?"

"He thanked me not for telling Lissa he knew about us, and how he refused to have you as his Guardian."

"Why didn't you tell her?"

"I was worried she was going to feel betrayed. If she knew we'd both kept it from her, she'd have no one to turn to."

"And you hoped to guilt Christian into having you as his Guardian?" he teased.

"Yeah. There was that too," I admitted.

"Has he given any indication of his thoughts on the matter?"

"Not really. He said he's open to at least considering it, but wants to talk it through with Liss."

The song ended, and Dimitri had returned us to the side of the room when Guardian Croft appeared.

"Guardian Hathaway – may I compliment you on how lovely you look this evening? I was wondering if you're free for the next dance?"

"Thank you, Guardian Croft," I replied. "That would be lovely."

Croft had barely led me to the edge of the dance floor when I saw Tasha swooping in on my boyfriend. By this time she'd had so much to drink I was surprised she was still standing, but there you go. I hated leaving him, but Dimitri was a big boy – he could look after himself.

"Ninety-six is one of the highest training scores I've ever heard," Croft observed pleasantly as we danced. He was a good dancer, and I was relieved he kept his grip light and his hands _exactly_ where they should be.

"I was surprised," I confessed. "I'd hoped to rank well, but it was a higher score than I'd anticipated."

"Sokolov showed me the reports. You earned it. I hope you intend to take part in the elimination fights?" He was going to say more when Tasha and Dimitri danced past – although I use the term danced loosely. My poor man looked like he was fighting a losing battle with an octopus! He was doing his best to keep Tasha at arm's length, and she was equally as determined to cuddle up with him.

I frowned, looking around the dance floor. My eyes brushed across Adrian's where he stood to one side with a group of Royal Moroi, laughing as he watched Tasha's pathetic attempts to ensnare Dimitri. He smirked at me, and I knew this was partially his doing – he'd been encouraging Tasha to drink to excess all evening! I shot him a withering look, my eyes continuing until I spotted who I was looking for.

"Guardian Croft? Would you mind dancing us over in the direction of my father?"

Abe was not far away, and he was dancing with Her Majesty! I didn't have time to ponder when and how they'd developed such a familiar and easy stance with one another – I had a message to convey.

"Excuse me your Majesty, Baba?" I interjected quietly when Croft brought us alongside the couple.

"Yes, kiz?" Abe said with a fond smile.

"Baba, I was wondering if you could perhaps ask a couple of your Guardians to help Lady Ozera back to her suite? I think she might have had a little too much to drink, and I'd hate her to do anything she might regret in the morning."

The four of us looked across to where Dimitri was attempting to offload Tasha back to the edge of the dance floor while she was trying to tug his very unwilling form out for another round.

"Leave it with me," he promised, artfully leading Tatiana away to the side of the room where Pavel stood on guard.

"That was kind of you," Croft observed. "It's not like she's your charge or you're on duty."

"They come first," I murmured, as though that explained everything.

* * *

A/N - I'm sorry it's late - I was away for a couple of days. To make up for it, I've put pictures of Lissa and Tasha's dresses up on my Facebook page:  
facebook com / swimmingthesamedeepwaters (link on my profile page if that's easier). Thanks for your patience and don't worry - there's a lot more excitement to come yet :D


	58. Chapter 58

"What an evening," I remarked shyly as Dimitri and I walked along to the path that led to guest housing. I kept sneaking glances at him as we walked arm in arm back to our suite. It was just before midnight, and while the party was still in full swing, Dimitri and I had had enough; we wanted to adjourn for a somewhat more private celebration.

"It was certainly eventful," my Russian God ruefully replied.

"Thank you for taking me."

"I wouldn't have missed it for anything, Guardian Hathaway," Dimitri grinned as we stepped into the elevator.

"Hmm," I sighed happily as I leaned against the wall of the lift. "Say that again…"

"I wouldn't have missed it for anything?" he teased, knowing where I was going with this.

"Nope, not _that_ bit…"

"Ahh… You mean _Guardian Hathaway,"_ he crooned, stepping forward and using his body to push me hard against the wood paneling.

"Uh ha," I moaned, slipping my arms up beneath his to grasp his back as he leaned down and kissed me.

"Do you like me kissing you, Guardian Hathaway?" he asked with a calculating grin.

"You know I do," I mewled.

"Good – because I've wanted to do it ever since you walked off that stage this afternoon," he growled, returning his lips to mine, our small kisses quickly heating up.

The lift car ground to a stop, and Dimitri sighed, pulling himself away from me as the doors opened on our floor.

"Come on, Roza," Dimitri said, his brown orbs dancing with desire.

Letting ourselves into the unit, we found Paul asleep on one sofa, Vika curled up reading on the other.

"How was it?" she whispered. "I want to know _everything!"_

Dimitri gritted his jaw in frustration and I smiled, pulling my heels off and flopping down beside my sister-in-law on the sofa. We clearly weren't getting out of this in any hurry, so Dimitri pulled over a dining chair, sitting in front of us and patting his knee, indicating I should put my feet up on him. I did so and was immediately rewarded when his hands started to knead my feet.

"Comrade – I love you," I moaned softly as his deft fingers found all the sore spots. Five-inch heels looked great, but I doubted there was any way to make them comfortable.

"So?!" Viktoria prompted impatiently.

"It was good," I said, not knowing what else she wanted to know.

"What happened? Did Tasha do anything? What was with that dress she was _almost_ wearing? I mean you could basically see her…" Vika's hands were gesturing in the region of her lap.

Dimitri snorted, in the first indication he'd been aware Tasha's dress had not been entirely appropriate.

"She attracted a lot of attention," I said diplomatically, thinking about the swarms of Moroi men who'd been keen to score a dance with a view to perhaps scoring something a bit more.

"I bet. She looked like trash!"

"Trasha!" I mumbled under my breath. I liked it!

"You should have seen her by the end of the evening," Dimitri said, his lips tightly pursed in a poorly suppressed smile.

"Yeah – she definitely looked like trash by then!"

"What happened?" Vika demanded. She could smell an amusing story.

"Well she was all over your brother like cheap perfume," I explained, thinking how apt the analogy was. "And the more she had to drink, the less subtle she was about it. Eventually, she was so drunk it started to get awkward, so I suggested to Baba he ask some of his Guardians to help her back to her room."

"And?" Vika eyes widened in anticipation.

"Well, they were helping her to the door when she decided to go back and say goodbye to Dimitri. Unfortunately, she collided with a waiter carrying a full tray of canapés. She ended up sitting on the floor covered in pastry and caviar." I chuckled, recalling the horrified look on her face.

"Oh my God! How embarrassing!" Vika gasped.

"Ahha!" I said nodding with a huge grin. _"Not_ her best look. It's going to take her hours to get that out of her hair – and I suspect her dress is ruined."

"No loss there," Vika joked.

Viktoria and I were tittering, and even my Russian God wore an amused expression.

"Were the Vitsins there? What did Elizaveta wear?"

"Other than a pissed off look all night?" I quipped. "A purple strapless dress. She looked quite nice."

I almost felt sorry for Elizaveta. Other than a couple of dances with Dimitri, Eddie, and her brother, she was a wallflower for most of the evening. Even Guardian Croft didn't seek her out – and he made a point of dancing with both Meredith and me.

Artyom's eyes had nearly fallen out of his head when he'd seen me. We'd danced twice – the first time he kept stammering about how gorgeous I looked, the second he spent apologizing for Elizaveta's rudeness at dinner the previous night. Both times I was relieved when Dimitri promptly appeared at the end of the song to reclaim me.

"Roza was the belle of the ball," Dimitri told his sister proudly. "She danced almost every dance!"

"And now I'm tired, so if you excuse me, I think it's time for me to head to bed," I said.

"And that's my cue to leave," Viktoria replied with a yawn. "I told Paul if you guys aren't up by 9 am he can come over to my room and I'll take him to breakfast."

"Thanks. Night Vika," I said with a wave as she let herself out the door.

"Alone at last," Dimitri sighed.

"Nearly," I muttered, pointing to his sleeping nephew.

"Come with me." Dimitri grabbed my hand, pulling me into our room. Pausing to switch on one of the bedside lamps, he dimmed it to its lowest setting before closing the door.

" _Now_ we're alone."

"We are."

"I want to undress you. I want to take this beautiful gown off you and reveal the gorgeous woman beneath it."

"Gorgeous _Guardian,_ now thank you."

"You'll always be a woman first and foremost to me, Guardian Hathaway. _My_ woman!"

I turned my back to Dimitri and he found the hidden zipper on my dress, carefully pulling it down my back to where it stopped just above where my panties sat.

"I like _this."_ Dimitri's long fingers slipped between the dress and my skin, fingering the delicate lace of the thong I was wearing.

"I thought you might," I told him, slipping the dress down over my hips and carefully stepping out of it. I placed it on the back of a chair and then turned to Dimitri standing in front of him in my underwear. "You're wearing too many clothes, Comrade."

He smiled, shrugging off his suit jacket and laying it on top of my dress. Next came his pants and then his dress shirt.

"You're wearing briefs tonight," I commented, liking the way the black stretch cotton accentuated his package. I stepped forward, running my hand over the bulge, loving the sexy growl he made as soon as I touched him.

"I knew I was probably going to be semi-hard half the night," he explained. "They help keep things in place."

"And were you? Semi-hard half the night?" I asked coquettishly, my hand resting on his manhood, eyes locked with his.

He shook his head, his chocolate orbs eyes flashing with need.

"It was _all_ night. From the second I saw you."

Pulling me up against him, Dimitri's large hands were at my back, unclasping my bra. And while my bra hadn't been particularly uncomfortable to wear, I still groaned in relief when my breasts were free – well at least until Dimitri's hands found their way to them! His hands on them felt even better – and I wasted no time letting him know it!

"So beautiful," he complimented me, before dropping to his knees. He lowered his face to the tiny scrap of lace and silk which comprised my panties. He leaned in, sensuously kissing my curls through the fabric before mouthing me just a little further down. "And you smell good, too!"

His voice was muffled, and I couldn't stop my hands finding their way to his head, gently pulling out his hair tie, so his long dark strands fell loose around his face. He moved my delicate panties to one side, gently parting my womanly folds before using his tongue to tickle the top of my slit looking for my tight pearl.

"There!" I whimpered when he found the spot. "Right there!"

Dimitri continued for a minute or two, listening as my breathing got more and more ragged. He pulled back, looking at me, and I could see my arousal on his lips and chin. He grinned, using his now unoccupied hands to pull my thong down my legs - the scrap of fabric minuscule in his hands. When I stepped out of them, he balled them up into his fist, bringing the fabric to his nose and inhaling deeply.

"Nothing smells as good as you," he growled, standing up before me.

Pausing only to pull off his own briefs, Dimitri picked me up and moved us both onto the bed. Giving me a quick kiss with wet lips before he laid me on my back, making his way back down my body toward the task he'd started.

"Tonight is all about you, Roza. It's your day." His lips were almost upon me, and I struggled to communicate my feelings before I lost myself in the bliss I knew he was going to bring me.

"It's _our_ day," I corrected. "I'm not your student anymore," I reminded him.

"Yes," he acknowledged. "And I'd like to celebrate by doing _this_ to you!"

He lowered his lips to me again, pleasuring me in a somehow more leisurely way than he had before. Usually, Dimitri used going down on me as the entrée; giving me a satisfying release before the main course. My man was well endowed, and I knew he worried about hurting me. Licking me had been part of his strategy to make sure I was turned on sufficiently to accommodate his very manly size.

Plus I was generally impatient as a lover, so often Dimitri would use his lips, tongue, and fingers to give me an initial orgasm to tide me over and prepare me before he built me up to a more substantial release. But tonight didn't feel like that. Tonight he was taking his time. I knew I'd be frustrated – _begging_ him to give me the relief I so craved. Yet even before he'd really started, I knew when he finally brought me to climax, the pleasure would be _well and truly_ worth it!

I let my hands drop to his head, fingering the strands of his long dark hair. The coarse, thick strands were feeling a little dry. I idly wondered whether I could convince him to put in a deep conditioning masque next time I did one on my hair?

Such mundane thoughts were soon forgotten as I got into the rhythm of Dimitri's pleasuring. Instead of focusing on my clit like he usually did, this time he was penetrating me with his tongue. It was a different feeling – the warmth of his mouth, the feeling of his tongue at my opening. It was simultaneously too much yet not enough. I was squirming as I started to feel the slow build, my breathing turning from soft sighs to breathy moans as I ran my fingernails over his scalp. I wanted him to return his attention to the swollen nub at the top of my slit. With just the tiniest bit of attention, I knew I'd cum almost immediately. Unfortunately, Dimitri knew it, too – and today he was going down the delayed gratification route.

"Dimitri?" I whined. I wasn't ready to out and out beg, yet, but if he kept this up it wouldn't be far away!

"Hmm?" he replied, not stopping his ministrations, even for a moment.

"I want you."

"How do you want it?" he paused to ask before returning to his oral attention while I thought about it.

Thanks to our high sex drives, healthy curiosity, and willingness to experiment together, I had a good range of positions we'd tried to choose from – and sometimes choosing was the problem. Everything was so good! But there was one position I'd like to try again…

"On my stomach with the pillows – like the first time in Baia," I moaned. That had been mind-blowing, and we hadn't done it that way since. It also had the advantage that I could scream my climax into the pillow – which was a consideration given Paul was asleep in the next room!

Dimitri's low guttural growl suggested he approved of my choice.

"On your knees," he demanded, pulling his mouth away from the apex of my thighs.

I immediately complied, rolling onto my stomach before lifting up onto my hands and knees. Still behind me, Dimitri kissed me _there_ a final time, giving my sensitive, needy clit a quick lick before pulling his lips from me again, reaching around to grab three of the four pillows. He positioned them beneath my hips. I was about to sink onto them, but he stopped me, wrapping an arm around my hips and holding me in place.

"Let's start like this," he crooned, running his finger up and down my privates before grasping himself. I could feel him running his tip up and down my slit, copying the path his fingers had just taken as he coated his cock with my juices. I was already very wet – partially from his saliva, the rest being my own musky excitement.

"I've waited so long," he continued, bringing his tip to my opening and letting out the softest hiss of pleasure as he pushed into me, inch by glorious, blessed inch. "No one can stop us, now, Roza. We don't have to worry anymore."

He stopped when he was fully inside me, giving us both the opportunity to feel the connection and enjoy being one.

"We belong together," he promised, rocking his hips ever so slightly as he started to take me doggy style. At first, it was just enough to move a little inside me, but he was building up to long shallow thrusts. I wanted to move and flex my hips to match his pace, but he had me firmly secured, preventing me from deepening the angle so it would hit my sweet spot.

"Not yet, Roza," he admonished playfully. "But soon. Really soon."

I gritted my teeth, little hisses of annoyance and pleasure escaping. What he was doing felt good, no doubt about it, but I knew when he took me harder and deeper it would feel even better!

Slowly but surely, my Russian God's pace increased. The bedsprings were groaning in outrage at the exertion we were inflicting on them, and I wasn't sure they, or I, could take it any longer when Dimitri suddenly demanded, "On your tummy. _Now!"_

I let my head drop to the pillow at the top of the bed, my arms sliding beneath it. Then with Dimitri's hardness still firmly inside me, I dropped my hips to the mound of pillows beneath them, my legs stretched out behind me.

An ungainly position, the pillows forced my ass into the air, where it was partially pushed down as Dimitri let his weight fall on top of me. Pressed hard beneath him, my hips were now at the perfect angle for him to take me hard, fast and deep - which is exactly what he did!

Like last time I was pinned; unable to flex or move. But I didn't need to. Dimitri was taking charge, so I surrendered myself to him – letting him position my body however he wanted to, knowing how highly he always prioritized my pleasure.

I knew he wasn't far from cumming by the way he was speeding up. His cock was now ramming into my sweet spot with every stroke, and I'd buried my face in the pillow to muffle the immodest words of encouragement I wasn't able to stop myself making. While Dimitri might find dirty talk difficult, I was impeded by no such limitation. My words were getting more and more descriptive until finally, I lifted my face from the pillow to whisper-shout "Oh fuck! I'm going to…"

I couldn't finish my words before I pushed my face back into the pillow, wailing as possibly the best orgasm I'd ever had wracked my body. Starting where Dimitri was embedded within me, the pleasure spread until I could feel it everywhere – a tsunami of unadulterated ecstasy.

With one final push into me, Dimitri also let go, slumping on top of me as he experienced his own climax. His hips rocking ever so slightly as he ejaculated, I could feel the walls of my cleft grasping at his cock as his lips found my neck, nuzzling against me as he pumped his seed into me.

The slightly salty scent of his cum filled the air, mixing with the smell of our sweat, my own musk odor and that indescribable sex smell that always permeated the room after our lovemaking.

Finally still, we lay there as one – basking in the aftermath of our lovemaking. I would have happily fallen asleep like that, but eventually Dimitri moved off me.

"Up to standard, Guardian Hathaway?" he teased as he pulled out, moving to one side of me.

"Hmm…" I agreed, too tired and satiated to do much more than roll off the pillows and into his waiting arms, giving him a dreamy, satisfied smile. "I think that was the best time yet," I added when I could finally put the words together.

We were lying facing one another; me cuddled against Dimitri, his sweaty chest pressed against my breasts.

"Was it good for you?" I asked, loving the satisfied and tender expression on his face.

"It was, Roza. But I particularly like that I'm no longer breaking the law," he admitted. "People might not _like_ that we're together, but at least now I can't be charged!"

"Were you worried about that?"

Dimitri shrugged. "Yeah. But obviously not enough to stay away from you," he confessed with a guilty grin.

"Well I'm all yours now, Comrade," I said with a shy little smile.

"I know it!" he said, with a shit-eating grin, pulling me closer.

We lay in silence for a while, until I couldn't delay asking the question that had been on my mind all night.

"Are you going to tell Tasha?"

"Yes. I need to. Tonight made it clear she still hasn't given up her hopes. She asked me to be her Guardian again while we were dancing. And she was explicit about her romantic intentions as well," he explained.

My lips pursed. Lucky Dimitri hadn't told me that while we were at the dance. Rather than asking Abe to have his Guardians escort her to her room, I might have asked him to have them drop her off alone and unarmed outside the ward line!

"What did you say?" I demanded.

"I didn't want to cause a scene at the dance, so I said I'd come find her tomorrow and we'd discuss it then."

"She made a scene anyway," I said a little disdainfully.

"Yes," Dimitri chuckled in recollection, "she did!"

My mood had taken a definite nose-dive with the discussion about scarface, so I deliberately pushed her from my mind. There'd be plenty of time for her in the morning.

"So – you never did tell me… What was your training score when you graduated?"

"It was the same as yours, Roza. I also got a ninety-six. It's the highest score ever awarded by St. Basil's, and now you and I share the honor."

I smirked. "Just one more sign we belong together," I crowed. "So – is this how you spent your graduation evening? In bed getting it on with someone hot and sexy?"

I regretted the question as soon as I asked it. If I found out he'd spent the night after his graduation with another woman, I was going to be very unhappy!

"Hardly!" he scoffed. "Babushka, Mama, Karolina, Viktoria, and Paul came for my graduation. We couldn't afford to rent guest accommodations for them, so I took Sonya to the dance for an hour or two, then I gave up my bed to Babushka and Mama. I spent graduation night sleeping on the floor next to Vika while Karolina and Paul slept in Sonya's room with her."

"Oh Comrade, that's rough," I cooed with a sympathetic smile. "The poor champion sleeping on the floor after topping the Academy. Didn't you even get some graduation kisses?"

"Not unless you count the ones from my family," he pouted, playing along with my game.

"That hardly seems fair," I simpered, rolling him onto his back and straddling him as I moved up his body, my lips finding his.

"A big strong _manly_ graduate like you – I think you deserved to have the night of your life. Why don't you lay back, Guardian Belikov? I'm going to show you how a man who scores ninety-six on his training score _deserves_ to spend the night after the graduation ball," I explained, stroking his hardness and positioning myself over it slowly sinking onto him.

Dimitri's eyes widened, but he wasn't about to stop me. Our thoughts were definitely headed in the same direction!

"I think I'd like that," he murmured, dropping his hands to my hips as I started to ride him.


	59. Chapter 59

"DIMKA! _What the fuck?"_

I opened my eyes in confusion. I was lying in bed with Dimitri. More like _on_ Dimitri, actually. He was on his back, and I was on my side. My head was resting on his shoulder, and I'd flung a leg over his hips while we slept. It was hot in the room, and airless. I couldn't feel where the covers were, but they certainly weren't over us. The two of us were tangled together, naked as the day we were born!

"Tasha?" I asked stupidly, seeing as she was standing in the doorway, Paul standing behind her with a fearful expression.

"What are you doing in bed with him? Did you have _sex?!"_ she loudly demanded.

By now Dimitri had woken, grasping my leg just as I was about to move away from him - which I quickly appreciated would have left his private region exposed.

"For Vlad's sake, Tasha! Can you stop shouting?" he grumbled, not happy about being woken up, particularly in such a compromising position.

Pulling a pillow from the head of the bed, Dimitri positioned it over his privates, passing another to me so I could put it in front of me to cover myself.

"Tasha, can you give us a moment so we can get dressed?"

She stood in the doorway furiously, shooting both of us daggers.

"Close the door - we'd like to get dressed!" Dimitri repeated a bit more forcefully.

What he said sinking in, Tasha reluctantly stood aside, shutting the door to give us our privacy.

Dimitri stood up and groaned. It was just past 8 am, and it had been late by the time we'd finished our amorous activities for the night. Last night had been perfect, and we'd both hoped for a sleep in and then maybe some more lovemaking before a leisurely brunch. An incensed wanna-be lover turning up early hadn't been on our agenda.

"Did you want me to stay or go?" I asked softly as we slipped into sweatpants. Dimitri pulled on a TShirt, while I picked a cute black spaghetti strap singlet top that I knew made my tits look fantastic. If I had to face her, I was going to make sure I did it looking good!

"Stay. She knows, now. It's all over except the crying," he predicted.

Dressed, Dimitri paused to give me a long sweet kiss.

"I'm not ashamed of loving you, Roza. I'm not going to apologize."

"I don't expect you to." Last night had been a night of rebellion. The first of hopefully many nights spent together as a lawful, loving couple. I gave him a final peck on the lips. "Let's do this."

Dimitri opened the door, and the two of us stepped out, finding an irate Tasha standing near the window by the kitchenette.

"Sorry – we weren't expecting anyone so early," I yawned, as though Tasha hadn't just busted us in bed together. Reminding myself that Dimitri and I had done nothing wrong, I deliberately kept it friendly and casual. "Do you want a coffee?"

"No thank you," Tasha said in an arctic tone.

"I will thanks, Roza." There was the usual affectionate tone in Dimitri's voice when he said the Russian version of my name, and Tasha looked even more incensed when she heard it.

"What the hell happened here last night?" Tasha shouted, any attempt at self-control completely lost once she heard Dimitri's loving tone toward me. "Are you _fucking your student?"_

"Not in front of my nephew," Dimitri growled furiously, showing anger for the first time. "Give us a moment."

The shouting must have woken Eddie because the door to his room opened, a bare-chested Eddie stepping out clad only in sweatpants, holding his stake. Right behind him was Meredith wearing a large TShirt and a pair of sweatpants I recognized as Eddie's. She was also armed.

"Everything ok?" Eddie checked. It was telling that he chose not to sheath his weapon as his eyes made their way between Paul, Dimitri, Tasha and I.

"Yeah, it's fine," I said tersely. "Sorry for waking you two."

After assessing the situation, Eddie's eyes searched mine, and I gave him a reassuring nod. With a mutter that he was "here if needed," he lowered his stake and stepped back into his room, closing the door after him. I moved across to where Paul was standing near the unit door and as far away as possible from Tasha.

"You ok?" I asked, resting my hands on his shoulders and looking into his eyes reassuringly.

"I'm sorry, Auntie Rose. She said she needed to see Uncle Dimka and asked me to show her which was his room." Paul's voice quavered right toward the end, and suddenly I was incensed with the scar-faced bitch for scaring him. Sure be angry with Dimitri, or me, but leave the kid out of it.

"It's alright. You did nothing wrong." I hugged him, whispering in his ear to go to Lissa's suite and send her over here immediately. "Don't tell her anything is wrong – just tell her I need to see her urgently. Just her," I stressed, my lips right against his ear so Tasha wouldn't overhear.

Once Paul was out of the unit, I returned to the kitchen absolutely seething. Who the hell did Tasha think she was barging into our accommodations and shouting at us? I deliberately didn't make eye contact with her, starting my coffee preparations.

Tasha glared at me. "What were you doing in bed with your mentor?"

"We're together, Tasha. Rose and I are lovers," Dimitri answered on my behalf. He said it calmly, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Which I guess, to us, it was.

"Together? Lovers?" Tasha repeated his words, her face becoming even more outraged as the syllables slipped from her unwilling lips. "How long?"

Dimitri shrugged, as though the timing of our love and union were of little consequence.

"Were you involved at the Lodge at Christmas?" she shouted.

"We weren't lovers, but yes, I had already started to fall in love with Rose," Dimitri replied uncomfortably.

"It was _her._ After Christmas, you said you couldn't take me up on my offer because you'd 'promised her you'd stay.' At the time, I thought you meant Vasilisa! I figured it was your damned sense of duty that was holding you back. But it wasn't, was it?! It was _her!"_

Dimitri nodded.

"What about when you called me from your mission? I spent the whole time hoping you'd come back and give us a chance. I knew if you just gave us a go you'd see how good it could be. Then you rang me and told me your head was fighting with your heart. You were obviously reconsidering my offer then. What happened?" Her voice was needy and pleading. As if, despite Dimitri's frank and honest admission, she still couldn't give credence to what she was hearing.

"That wasn't about you," Dimitri explained softly. "I was struggling with my feelings for Rose. I guess I just needed to talk it through."

"You knew how I felt, but you rang to use me as a sounding board for your feelings about another woman?" Tasha asked incredulously. She made Dimitri sound like an asshole and thinking back to that time, maybe she had a point! Yes, I had been the one to give him reason to doubt – but whether he appreciated it or not, his thoughtless phone call had caused Tasha and I both a lot of pain!

"I'm sorry, Tasha. I thought I'd made it clear I couldn't take up your offer and that I didn't feel that way about you? I told you at Christmas there was someone else, and that I knew I'd never be able to be in a loving relationship with you. I thought we were back to being friends. Good friends."

His voice was imploring. He was losing one of his oldest friends, and I knew it hurt him.

"So you can't find it in you to give it a go with me, but meanwhile you're ok with screwing your underage student!" she shrieked. "She was what? Seventeen? And your student, Dimka! You were in a position of authority over her!"

"I'm not his student _or_ underage," I interjected with a calmness I didn't necessarily feel. While she was right with her assertions, that didn't paint the full picture of how things stood between Dimitri and me. I hadn't been some naïve schoolgirl coerced by a predatory, older male. Ours was a story of love growing, despite its inauspicious circumstances.

Tasha spun to fix me with her eyes.

"But you were then! What sort of slut are you?! I saw you at Christmas time – encouraging that red-haired boy. And then you used Dimitri's pillow talk to feed him the information which got him killed! You're the reason he's dead, and make no mistake about it."

I gasped, Tasha's words wounding me in a way nothing else could because she was right. I _had_ encouraged Mason, and ultimately it was me who'd given him the information that got him killed. And the guilt I held, that I'd _always_ hold about it was immeasurable.

"I wondered at the time," Tasha continued with a bitter laugh, turning back to Dimitri. "You were so desperate to find them. You felt so _responsible_ for what had happened. But you were responsible, weren't you Dimka? You were the adult – you should have known better! But you didn't. Because of you, one child is dead and how many others suffered as a result of your infatuation? My nephew could have died! But you didn't care, as long as you were getting a bit!"

I could see Dimitri flinch under the barrage of Tasha's words. Because, like me, he knew there was at least some truth to them. And if I knew the fallout resulting because we fell in love, so did he.

"Tasha, stop," Dimitri said firmly. "Rose and I weren't in a physical relationship then, and the past is the past! She's a Guardian now, and eighteen. We're not doing anything wrong! We're in love, and we're going to be together. I'd _hoped_ you might be happy for us."

" _Happy_ for you?! You keep me hanging on, dangling the chance you might change your mind in front of me like some sort of carrot, but the whole time you're getting it on with that blood whore slut! Were you going to keep me around just in case it didn't work out with her? Was I Plan B?!"

"I know you're hurt, but don't you _ever_ talk about Rose like that," Dimitri roared. "And I never gave you any reason to believe I'd change my mind. Every time you've asked, I've said no. Anytime you tried to get me alone or get too close, I've backed off. I took the time to consider your offer at Christmas, and I said _no._ I told you again at Court I couldn't guard you, or be romantic with you, and I thought you understood? I'm sorry if you didn't, but I tried to be clear then, and I'll be clear now. I can not, and will not, accept your offer to be your guardian, and I can't love you the way you want me to!"

"No, you never really considered it. Because you were already fucking her! I can see it now. The way you were always together. How you'd look at her. You came to Russia just to be with her, didn't you?" she goaded. "Following your dick instead of your duty! What sort of man are you?!"

"It's not my _duty_ to guard you!" Dimitri shouted his face red with rage.

"But it should be! I'm Royal, and that counts for something. But no – you want to give it all up so you can sink your cock into a chick that will no doubt blow you off when the next guy she can use comes along. In fact, I think she's already set her sights on Ivashkov. He seemed pretty eager to come over here to see her as soon as he found out Tatiana was visiting! A person doesn't do that without _some sort_ of encouragement!"

A vein was throbbing in Dimitri's temple. While he knew nothing was going on between Adrian and me, it was still a sensitive topic with him. After their rivalry at the Ski Lodge, Dimitri's go to position was suspicion and defensiveness when it came to the Queen's great nephew.

"Why not? _You did,"_ I said raising my eyebrows tauntingly. "You flew all the way here to see Dimitri, even though he'd made it clear time and time again he wasn't interested in you. He was much more interested in, what did you say? Oh, that's right – _sinking his cock into me!_ And for the record, there's _nothing_ between Adrian and I. He knows about Dimitri and me, and unlike you, he's smart enough to recognize a lost cause when he sees one."

I was shouting so loudly Tasha didn't hear the outer door to our unit open, Lissa stepping inside, taking in the scene before her with astounded eyes.

"Shut up you worthless blood whore. I don't have to listen to scum like you. You're a useless slut who's probably opened your legs to half of St. Vladimir's!"

"I told you _not to speak about Rose like that!_ You don't know anything about her or about us!" Dimitri bellowed, stepping toward Tasha threateningly before stopping himself. I honestly had never seen my man so irate. Even Tasha looked a little taken back by his rage, so she turned to me, refocusing her attention in my direction.

"I'm right, aren't I?! You've used Dimitri for all you can. You've graduated with a good score, and now you plan to trade him in for a richer, better-connected man!" she taunted me.

"Tasha you have no idea what you're talking about," I said disdainfully, shooting Dimitri a calming look. "Dimitri and I are in love. We're going to be together as a couple no matter what you or anyone else thinks. You can't stop us!"

"But I can," she declared triumphantly. "Do you really think I'll let you be with him? If I can't have Dimka, I'll make damned sure you can't either," Tasha screamed, the dark, poisonous words spewing recklessly from her mouth as though she were incapable of stopping them. Which was probably the truth.

"I'll tell Guardian Headquarters that for the last six months, Dimitri has been neglecting his duty so he can fuck a _child._ A child in his care. There'll be nothing left of his career once I'm done. Are you willing to stick around, waiting faithfully for _years_ until he's out of prison? Because you won't be guarding Lissa, _that's_ for sure. I'd never let a whore like you guard my nephew's beloved. But no doubt there are Moroi men out there who won't mind a slightly _used_ Guardian. I'm sure you can convince them with your _charms…"_

"You don't frighten me," I said staring Tasha down.

"I should," she threatened, and it was then I saw the fireballs forming in her hands. And she was right – I should fear her; because it was then I understood something I hadn't before. Tasha was stark raving mad, and her regard for Dimitri went way beyond desire – she was obsessed with him. And she'd meant every word, every threat, she'd made. And rather than angry, I just felt sad.

"Tasha!"

The scar-faced Moroi spun, hearing Lissa speak and witnessing her presence for the first time. Dimitri also turned, but rather than relieved, he was worried by Lissa's appearance. On some level, Lissa was still his charge, and her being in such a volatile situation unnerved him.

"Stop it!" Lissa cried peremptorily, her voice shaky, yet carrying a command that was undeniable. I wasn't sure whether the demand was for Tasha or all of us. I don't suppose it really mattered, given the context.

"Why? She's taken everything I wanted!" Tasha replied beseechingly, gesturing to where I stood in the kitchenette. It was as though she were putting her case forward for Lissa to play judge, jury, and executioner.

"What do you mean, Tasha?" Lissa asked in a soothing tone. "What's going on?"

"She doesn't deserve him! She doesn't deserve anything! He's _mine!_ " Tasha explained, her eyes seeking out Dimitri. "He's meant to be mine! He's meant to love me. We're meant to be together."

I could feel Lissa's alarm through the bond. She was studying Tasha's aura, and a moment later I felt her make a decision.

"No Liss!" I shouted, but it was already too late.

"Tasha," Lissa said in a strangely calming voice that was almost musical. She moved in closer, grabbing Tasha's now flameless hands, looking deep into her eyes. "You have never had romantic feelings for Guardian Belikov. You offered to have him as your Guardian, but only ever with friendship in mind. You came here today to apologize to Guardian Belikov for your drunken behavior last night, and he told you about his feelings for Rose. You are delighted that Dimitri and Rose are in love, and you understand they are being private about it, so you won't tell anyone. You are going to go back to your suite now for a sleep, and you won't remember anything about this."

Tasha's face morphed from anger through confusion to, finally, an almost dreamlike benevolence.

"Of course I'm happy for them," she said with what looked like a genuine smile. "Dimitri and Rose make a wonderful couple. They're perfect for each other! I'll see you later, guys. I'm still tired after last night – I think I need to go back to my suite for a rest."

With a smile Tasha left the apartment, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.

Dimitri regarded Lissa uneasily. Unlike me, he'd never seen her perform compulsion, and I could tell he found it more than a little confronting.

"You shouldn't have done that," I growled, scooping an exhausted Lissa into a grateful embrace.

"I could see it in her aura. She's not well, Rose. She wasn't going to stop until she destroyed you both," Lissa explained.

"But still! It's not worth the cost!"

"What are friends for?" she asked faintly, letting me guide her to one of the sofas. She was exhausted from such an intense use of magic and needed me to care for her.

"Comrade? Can you order a feeder to come to our suite?" I asked Dimitri, smoothing the hair back from Lissa's brow. She was even paler than usual and feeling a little clammy to the touch. "Lissa needs to feed, and then she'll need to sleep. I'll take care of her, here. Can you give it a few minutes, then go tell Christian she and I are having a gossip session about last night, and we'll meet him at the dining hall for lunch at midday?"


	60. Chapter 60

"So what the hell happened?" Meredith asked.

She was sitting with me on the sofa drinking the coffee I'd previously been making for Dimitri. The feeder had just left, and Lissa was sleeping on the spare bed in Meredith's room. Dimitri was passing on the message to Christian, Eddie was having a shower, and Meredith had changed into her own clothing and had come out to get the low down from me.

"Tasha came here this morning. Paul answered the door, and she asked him which was Dimitri's room. I don't think she was expecting to find the two of us in there together."

"Oh hell, you weren't…"

I laughed.

"No. We were asleep, but we were naked without the sheets covering us, so we might as well have been!"

Meredith was chuckling at the look on my face.

"And then she went off her head?"

"Pretty much. Well, you heard most of it. I sent Paul to get Lissa, hoping she'd be able to calm Tasha down. And in the end, she was able to."

It was the truth, just not all of it. I had hoped Lissa would be able to get Tasha to pause long enough to listen. But end I had seriously underestimated just how obsessed Tasha was with Dimitri. While we were waiting for the feeder, Lissa described Tasha's aura and how messed up it had been.

"So is everything ok now?"

"I think so," I said shrugging. "She seemed to be ok when she left." Again, a partial truth.

"Don't think I didn't notice whose clothes you were wearing this morning," I laughed, changing the topic of conversation. "What was _that_ all about?! Are you and Eddie a thing now?"

"Ugh! No one was meant to find out," Meredith groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"So you're together?!" I gasped with a smile.

"No! Well, we were but just as a one-off thing."

"I want to know everything," I demanded, settling back into the sofa with an expectant grin.

"Oh God, this is so embarrassing!" Meredith moaned, looking up at me.

"Well you can tell me, or I'll ask Eddie," I said with a mischievous grin.

"No! I'll tell you!"

Meredith took a fortifying sip of her coffee before she continued.

"It was 1.30 or so, and the party was winding down. I'd had a good time, and Eddie was a fun date. We were walking back up here, and he was asking if I'd had a good night. I told him it was just about perfect. He asked what would have made it the perfect night, and I joked finishing it off on my back with a hot guy between my thighs."

I drew my breath inward in a sharp hiss before dropping my mouth open in an amazed expression. I just couldn't imagine Meredith saying that!

"How much had you had to drink?"

"Apparently one glass too many," she replied, her face flaming. "I mean I wasn't drunk, but I was a little _too_ honest…"

"And then what happened?!"

"Eddie said it's a pity there wasn't anyone there I wanted to be in a relationship with. I said I wasn't interested in a relationship, but it seemed like a waste to be all dressed up and not have someone to continue the party with. He understood what I was getting at, and asked if I wanted some no strings attached fun. I was going to sneak back to my room before you two were up this morning…"

"But Tasha woke us all up," I finished for her. "So… was it good?"

"Rose!" she hissed.

"Oh come on! You can't tell me all this and not tell me if it was alright!"

She carefully looked around behind her to make sure Eddie hadn't come out of the bathroom.

"Let's just say I'm not going to waste my time with Moroi guys anymore!" she replied with a devilish look.

I laughed, giving her a knowing nod, and lifting my hand for a high five. We shared a giggle before she became serious again.

" _Please_ don't say anything to Eddie. I mean – he knows you and Dimitri know, but it was just meant to be a bit of harmless fun. I don't want him to feel weird about things."

I seriously wanted to give Eddie shit about this, especially after some of his ribald comments when Dimitri and I went for our night away in Omsk together. But Meredith was so insistent. I knew most Guardians didn't have relationships because of their profession, so if two of my peers decided to have a night between the sheets, I guess that was their business.

"Yeah alright – but I'm missing a month's worth of teasing, you know that?" I mock grumbled.

I heard the hiss of the shower stop, so knew Eddie would be out in a moment.

"Thanks, Rose. And do you think you could ask Dimitri not to say anything?" she asked hopefully.

"I will," I promised. "As long as he knows it was consensual and no one was taken advantage of, he'll be fine. So did you notice Guardian Croft didn't dance with Elizaveta?" I asked, steering the conversation to less murky waters.

"I did actually," Meredith replied. "It was almost pointed. He danced with pretty much every female Guardian not on duty, as well as you and I. I thought maybe he hadn't seen her, but he stopped to talk to her, but they didn't dance."

"Maybe he asked, and she said no?" I suggested.

"Who said no?" Eddie asked coming out of the bathroom fully dressed but looking a little nervous.

"We were just saying Croft danced with Meredith and me, but not Elizaveta. Maybe he asked, and she said no?"

"I doubt it," he replied. "The guy's in charge of Guardians worldwide. I can't imagine she'd turn him down!"

I shrugged. There was no other logical explanation for it.

"So all ok with Tasha?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so. She calmed down eventually."

From within his room, Eddie and Meredith wouldn't have been able to hear Lissa compel Tasha, and I wasn't about to tell them the truth of what went down. The use of compulsion was strictly outlawed - the fewer people who knew just how proficient Lissa was at it, the better!

"I might use the shower now it's free, unless you want it, Rose?" Meredith said only a little awkwardly, standing up and not meeting Eddie's eyes.

"You go for it. I need another coffee." It was still early, and I'd planned to be fast asleep with my Russian God right now. "You want one, Eddie?" I asked, feeling a little sorry for my ill at ease friend.

"Thanks," he said, watching me carefully while he was picking his words.

"So… about this morning with Meredith…" Eddie started once we heard the shower start again.

"Is your business," I said firmly. "As long as you're both into it, it's nothing to do with me."

"Yeah, we talked this morning. It was a kind of spur of the moment thing. I mean we both enjoyed it, but we don't want to be _together."_

"You don't have to explain yourself to me," I said with a smile. "But I guess we're even, now."

"Even?"

"Well you saw me sneak out of Dimitri's room at the compound, and now I've caught you with a girl in yours!"

Eddie grinned bashfully.

"I guess so."

* * *

"ангел?"

The second Dimitri opened the door to the unit, I was in his arms, and he closed them around me firmly. Lissa was sleeping, Meredith had gone for a run, and Eddie was in his room, the door closed. I'd been waiting on the sofa for Dimitri to return.

"I've told Christian you and Lissa are gossiping, then I checked on Paul. He's with Vika, and he's fine."

"He wasn't upset?"

"He was worried we'd be angry with him, but I've reassured him he did nothing wrong."

I nodded my head where it was resting against Dimitri's strong, broad chest. I was glad Paul was ok in the aftermath of Tasha because I wasn't.

"It wasn't true, what she said. About Mason," Dimitri told me.

"It was," I whispered. "I did encourage him. I thought if I gave him a go I could forget you." I said the last words softly, but the tightening of Dimitri's arms around me told me he'd heard them.

"Roza, mistakes were made all around. You, me, Mason – we all made mistakes. No one person was responsible, and at the end of the day, Mason made his choices."

"But he only came back inside because he cared for me. If he hadn't thought we could be together, he would have stayed outside."

"I don't think that's true," Dimitri said. "I've seen and known a lot of Guardians. Mason would have gone back for you whether you were a friend or a lover."

"I don't know about that," I said fatalistically.

"Would he have gone back if it was Eddie?"

I'd never thought about it that way. Toying with the idea in my head, I reluctantly replied.

"Yeah, he would have."

"And was he interested in Eddie, too?" Dimitri teased gently.

I shook my head with a little smile. I still felt horribly guilty, but Dimitri was right. Even if he hadn't thought he had a chance with me, Mason would have come back. And somehow understanding that helped a little.

"Speaking of Eddie…What was Meredith doing in his room last night?!"

I lifted my head from to check the door to Eddie's room was still closed.

"They decided since it was graduation night they'd have a bit of no strings attached fun," I whispered.

Dimitri raised an eyebrow and smirked a little.

"And how are they this morning?" he asked curiously.

"Both embarrassed to be found out, and a bit weird around each other, but they're ok. Meredith made me promise not to tease Eddie about it," I grumbled.

"They both wanted no strings attached?" Dimitri checked.

"Yes, Dad," I teased. "Neither of them is looking for anything ongoing."

Dimitri shrugged.

"Why should we be the only ones to have a good time," he muttered with a smile in his voice.

We stood together in the living room for another few minutes, both resolutely avoiding the elephant in the room – Lissa's use of compulsion.

"Lissa will be asleep for a few hours yet," I murmured, my head resting over Dimitri's heart. "Why don't we lie down and talk until she wakes up?"

* * *

For the second time that day, I woke up to find someone looking at Dimitri and me asleep on our bed. But this time we were dressed, and it was Lissa wearing a goofy looking smile.

"Hey Liss," I murmured, carefully extricating myself from Dimitri's grip without waking him and rolling off the edge of the bed. "You feeling better?"

I ran my eyes over her appraisingly. She looked a lot stronger, and her color was back. Still, such a huge use of spirit would knock her around for a day or two.

She nodded.

"You two look good together," she complimented. "It's so cute to look at you two! The way he holds you when you're asleep is adorable! Is he usually affectionate?" she asked curiously.

I forgot that other than at the dance, Lissa had never seen Dimitri and me as a couple. I guess that was going to take some getting used to.

"When it's just us, yes. I don't know what he's going to be like in front of you," I told her honestly. "I mean, he's still your Guardian."

Lissa looked troubled. We hadn't talked through how to manage Dimitri and I being in a relationship with our guardian responsibilities.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to Christian about it yet," she said, divining the direction of my thoughts. "Did you really want to guard Christian instead of me? Now Tasha is ok with you and Dimitri, you could guard me, and Dimitri could guard Christian?"

"Are you going to tell Christian you compelled her?" I asked, stalling for time.

"I wasn't planning to," she replied uneasily. She didn't have to ask – she knew I'd keep it a secret, and I'd ask Dimitri to, too.

 _Hell knows_ what Christian was going to make of Tasha's backflip about her feelings, though. And even once he knew she was ok with us, I wasn't sure if he'd maintain his previous stance. However, an idea that had started out of necessity had slowly shown its merits.

"I've thought about it, but I think me guarding Christian will help our friendship. When I'm guarding, it's _work_ for me, Liss. I mean I'll always defend you if there's danger, but I think it will be hard for me to switch from guardian to friend mode every twelve hours. I'd either be in friend mode when I should be guarding, and that would put you at risk, or I'd feel like I was always on duty."

She was disappointed. I could tell.

"I mean we'll still be living together, and I'd probably guard you sometimes when it's more practical. _And_ you'll be with Christian a lot of the time, so it would be the four of us together anyway."

"If Christian agrees," Lissa said, at least contemplating the idea.

"Yes. If he agrees."

* * *

"So are you three ready for the fights tomorrow?" Abe boomed, looking decidedly out of place wandering into the St. Basil's cafeteria with Pavel, and coming over to where Dimitri, Eddie, Meredith, Lissa, Christian and I were sitting along with Vika and Paul.

"Yeah I guess so," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. With all the drama of graduation, Lissa and the others showing up, and then the showdown with Tasha, I'd almost forgotten tomorrow would be the start of the elimination fights.

Dimitri had just finished explaining how it operated, and it was a lot more complicated than I'd thought it would be! It turned out Eddie, Meredith, Artyom, Elizaveta and I would only be fighting on the final day.

Graduates were sorted by their training scores and would fight in rounds of eight based on them. So the bottom eight graduates taking part would fight one another across a total of twenty-eight fights. To speed it up, four fights were held simultaneously, much as it had been during our fights in Baia. Every fight would be adjudicated and scored, and the top two fighters from the bottom group would move up to fight in the next round with the next six most highly ranked graduates and so on. Dimitri said it was done this way to eliminate the need for everyone to fight everyone because with so many taking part, it just took too long. It also meant a competitor's score across seven fights was taken into consideration, which was a fairer comparison than a simple win/lose in one fight.

For the highest group, the same theory applied. The top eight graduates would fight each other, and then the top two scoring would battle it out to be the overall winner. So on the final day, I'd be fighting seven others and assuming I was one of the top two, also the final fight.

"Since they're already in the top six, they won't be fighting until Wednesday, but a lot of visiting Guardians like to practice with the top competitors so I'll have the three of them participating in practice fights tomorrow and Tuesday," Dimitri explained to my father.

Abe and Dimitri were discussing practicalities when Tasha walked in alongside Adrian. Lissa and I both tensed seeing her, but Tasha gave us everyone an easy, relaxed smile.

"We thought we'd find you guys here," she greeted, plonking herself down near Lissa and I, Adrian taking the seat beside her. No one else seemed to pick up on it, but I saw my father notice the way Paul tucked himself in closer to Vika, and out of Tasha's direct line of sight.

Damn. Not much got past Baba.

"I just heard from Aunt Tatiana. Something's come up, and we're leaving tonight," Adrian explained. Although the words themselves were innocuous enough, something about the way he said them suggested there was more to the story.

"Damn! I wanted to see the eliminations," Christian grumbled.

"Me too," said Lissa, although I knew she was completely disinterested in the fights other than my participation in them.

"Sorry, guys," Adrian shrugged. "She who owns the plane says when it flies. So what do you guys think your chances are?" he asked Meredith, Eddie and I in what was a clear attempt at changing the topic.

"Well, we know we're in the top six," I laughed. "Honestly, we're all in with a good chance, and I'm determined not to lose to Elizaveta!"

Meredith nodded. We'd kicked Elizaveta's ass on the training scores, and we intended to do the same in the fights.

"I'm sure you've done a great job preparing them, Dimka," Tasha said in a voice that was strangely devoid of the usual fawning tone.

"I've done my best," Dimitri replied awkwardly, uncertain how to interact with her given what happened this morning.

We all chatted for a while after that, but it was awkward as hell. There was a sort of underlying tension, and everyone could feel it.

"Well, I need to see a feeder! Anyone like to come?" Abe offered but looking mainly at Tasha.

"Yeah, I will. I overdid it last night and am still feeling bleurgh," Tasha laughed a little embarrassed. "Look while you're all here, I'm sorry if I said or did anything I need to apologize for last night. I had _way_ too much to drink and a lot of the evening is kind of blurry!"

No one really said anything, so Abe jumped in.

"Oh you were alright," he lied. "I didn't notice anything."

Gesturing for her to lead the way, he turned back to the table and gave an exaggerated wink. Once they'd left Adrian spilled the beans.

"Aunt Tatiana is furious with Tasha about last night. She basically wants her back at Court so there'll be no further displays like last night."

"Well she _was_ drunk," I defended, glaring at Adrian.

"She wasn't when she chose her dress," he countered.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were staking a claim on the position of drunken Royal acting inappropriately," I snapped.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Lissa said firmly as though we were naughty school children. Turning from Adrian, I could see Christian was embarrassed at the way the conversation was progressing.

"If Her Majesty wants us to leave early then we'll leave early," Lissa said with dignity, her hand on Christian's arm soothingly.

"You could stay if you want? Baba's sending us home on his plane," I piped up. "I'll check, but there should be room for you, Christian, Celeste, and Emil." I spitefully didn't include Adrian in the offer.

Lissa looked at Christian.

"Check with your dad. We'll talk and let you know," she said.

* * *

"So what happened with Tasha Ozera?"

Gee, Dad. Way to cut to the chase.

"What do you mean?" I countered.

"Last night she was all over Dimitri, and today it's a completely different story."

"She came over this morning before we were awake. She asked Paul to show her where Dimitri was sleeping. He was sleeping there, and so was I."

"Ohhh…"

"Yep. Lots of fun. So Tasha knows about us, and she knows Dimitri is never going to be her Guardian."

"And she was ok with that?" There was a look on his face I didn't trust.

"Eventually…"

Abe held my eye for a moment then changed the topic.

"So Tatiana is heading back to Court tonight."

"Yeah, I know. Adrian said it was because of Tasha. I was wondering if there's room on your plane for Lissa, Christian, and their two Guardians if they want to stay for the elimination fights?"

"We'll need a larger van, but it can be organized," he replied. "You'd bring them to Baia?"

"Shit. I'd forgotten about that," I admitted. "They'd need feeders… And there's not really room for four more at Olena's."

"They can stay with me. It's only for a night."

I wasn't sure if Lissa and Christian would be comfortable staying with Abe, but I'd put it to them.

"Thanks, Baba. I'll ask them if they want to stay on. So... What's the deal with you and Tatiana? You two seem rather close?"

"Not _that_ close. We've just known each other a long time. I'll tell you about it. Eventually…!"


	61. Chapter 61

The last two days had flown past. We were up and ready on Monday for the initial fights, and while at first, they were fun to watch, seeing less skilled graduates duke it out got old pretty fast. Even with four matches going on simultaneously, it took seven iterations to get through the first round!

The atmosphere at the fights was almost party like; Moroi gathering in the bleachers, eating, greeting and chatting with one another. In the early rounds, at least, little attention was given to the new Guardians. They weren't the fighters the Moroi had come to watch. Yet the stands were packed, as Moroi claimed their seats for the more exciting fights yet to come.

True to his word, Dimitri had us practice fighting down the quiet end of the gym with more experienced Guardians who were visiting campus with their Moroi for the fights. Pavel was a great help, sending his Guardians to approach people they knew or had trained with to fight us. Thanks to that, and our training scores, we had a steady supply of fighters to warm up against. We didn't want to go into our fights cold, and we were too used to fighting each other, so it was handy spending time fighting others.

Everyone knew we were some of the last fighters, so while we practiced there was a steady stream of Moroi, and even dhampir, eyeing our form appraisingly. Dimitri had warned us betting was a huge part of the fights, especially in the upper levels, so I suppose it made sense people had their eye on us checking us out in the days leading up to the final fights.

But our days hadn't all been fighting. I got to spend a decent amount of time with Lissa and Christian, too. They'd taken Abe up on his offer of flights back to Court, and a night at his house in Baia. Dimitri had rung Olena to tell her the latest developments and to extend Abe's offer to host the final dinner at his home to spare Olena the effort. Naturally, she declined, insisting that Lissa, Christian, Celeste, and Emil attend the family dinner she'd be preparing on Thursday night, just like we knew she would.

When this information was relayed to an unsurprised Abe, he'd responded by saying he would, of course, supply the raw ingredients. After a ten minute discussion with a reluctant Dimitri, he'd manage to inveigle from him the likely dishes Olena would be making. He then had Pavel place a call to Baia's butcher and greengrocer making arrangements to purchase and deliver ingredients for the same, as well as putting a sizeable credit onto the Belikova's accounts for any 'extras.'

Dimitri said his mother would be embarrassed by Abe's largesse, but I pointed out she'd be cooking for seventeen – it would be expensive, and this way she could provide the sort of meal she'd like to without consideration about how to afford it. Knowing his mother wouldn't want to be caught by surprise, Dimitri texted Karo to explain the arrangement and then turned off his phone before his mother had a chance to dictate a reply!

Tuesday night had held a surprise. Eddie, Meredith, Lissa, Christian, Celeste, Vika, Paul, Dimitri and I had been watching a movie together in our suite when Christian suggested we needed more snacks and asked me to come to the dining hall with him to fetch them. Dimitri had volunteered to go in my place, but Christian had stressed he'd like me to accompany him. It turned out he'd wanted to talk to me about me being his Guardian.

When he asked, I'd explained the concerns I had about guarding Lissa while also being her friend. He asked a few questions about how guarding would work, and who I'd want to pair guard with. I suggested Celeste might be interested in continuing to partner with Dimitri for Lissa, while I was open to working with whoever. I did put forward Eddie's name, and Christian admitted he'd thought about checking if he was interested.

By the time we made it back to the unit with juice, chips, and popcorn, it was decided. Christian and I would put in joint paperwork for allocation. There were no guarantees of course – but since I'd phrase my application in the context of being part of the Ozera/Dragomir guarding team, my chances were pretty good. Guardian Headquarters would want to do everything they could to keep the last Dragomir safe, and I knew I could rely on Dimitri and Lissa to support my request.

Lissa had given Christian a searching look when we came back in, and he'd nodded. Dimitri didn't miss the exchange and gave me a relieved smile before opening his arms up to me as I sat in his embrace cuddled into his side. After all the stress, it was finally decided. For good or bad, Dimitri and I would be living and working together guarding Lissa and Christian!

It was still taking the young Royal couple a while to get used to seeing Dimitri and me 'together.' We were keeping the PDA to a minimum while they were around, but we weren't hiding it, either. It was undoubtedly easier after Tasha left. Her change of attitude had been a little unnerving, even if I _did_ know the reason behind it!

I was warming up on Wednesday afternoon at the side of the gym while Lissa and Christian were beside me watching on from the bleachers when Christian raised the issue.

"So I rang Tasha to tell her that Rose and I are putting in a request for her to be my Guardian. She seemed really _happy_ about it. Said it was a great way for Rose and Dimitri to work and still be together. I thought she'd be upset…"

"I'm sure she _was_ pleased for them," Lissa said brightly. "She's an old friend of Dimitri's – of course, she wants to see him happy!"

"But she was so _into_ him…" Christian said uncertainly. "You remember what she was like. I didn't think she'd change her tune so quickly?"

"She might be a little embarrassed, Christian. I think the kindest thing we can do is pretend she was never interested in anything other than friendship with Dimitri."

"I agree," I added, coming over after doing my leg crunches. "No one wants to be reminded they were interested in someone only to find out they were already with someone else. Unless she raises it, I'd say nothing. That's what Dimitri and I are doing."

"That's really thoughtful of you," Christian said sincerely.

"Not at all," I mumbled, retying my shoelaces, so I didn't have to meet his eye. It was a relief when Dimitri, Meredith, and Eddie arrived.

There'd been three rounds already today. Each fight lasted a maximum of ten minutes; then each competitor got a five-minute recovery break before the next contests started. For each competitor to face all seven fighters in their round took just under two hours all up. Once that was done, the scores were tallied, the Guardians adjudicating talked if they needed to, the graduates progressing to the next round were advised, and then it started all over again. Today there'd been two rounds before lunch, then one after. Now at 3.30 pm, we were just about to start the main event – the final round.

The bleachers were now absolutely packed - this is what everyone wanted to see. Abe had secured excellent seats right in front of what would be the final sparring space and was sitting there in his brightest, most garish suit to date. I swear – sometimes I think he wore those suits just to make a spectacle of himself. Something about the dowdy, formal, oh so proper Royal Moroi having to acknowledge and pay deference to a guy dressed so ridiculously would appeal to his warped sense of humor. I knew this because it appealed to mine!

"One of you will end up outranking the other two, today. Getting to the top round is an honor in itself, so no matter how you do, you're already winners," Dimitri said to Meredith, Eddie and me, channeling his inner coach. "These fights can also be unpredictable. I've heard of people come up two ranks to end up the overall winner – so don't take anything or anyone for granted."

We all nodded. We might pretend we didn't, but in our heart of hearts, we all pictured ourselves as the overall winner.

"After you've placed, people might court you, offering you deals or privileges if you agree to put a request in with them for allocation. I don't want to stand in anyone's way, but I know a lot of the people here either personally or by reputation. If someone makes you an offer you're considering, I'd like you to talk to me about it. More than one Guardian has found themselves in a dodgy situation after agreeing to a joint allocation request without knowing all the facts."

"Not talking about _me_ now, I hope Belikov?" Abe said catching the last of Dimitri's speech as he sauntered over with Pavel.

"I wouldn't dare," Dimitri replied deadpan, causing us all to erupt in laughter – even Abe.

"Belikov's right," Abe said, clapping my Russian God on the shoulder. "I know pretty much everyone here. I can also give you the low down if you're interested in taking up any offers."

So far the only offer anyone had was me from Christian, although Dimitri was planning to have a quiet word with Celeste today sometime to say if she was still interested in moving on from the Academy, Lissa would be needing a second Guardian. If she wasn't interested, Meredith was his second choice. While I'd be on opposite shifts to his guarding partner, we'd still be living together. Since I liked both Meredith and Celeste, I was pleased with them as potentials.

We stood around waiting for the other competitors to arrive. The top six were a guy called Eblan, then Elizaveta, Meredith, Artyom, Eddie and me. Two guys had made it up from the round below, making up the final eight.

It was going to be hard going for the eight of us. Where the earlier fights had been time limited to ten minutes, the fights in the final round were twice as long. I'd be fighting, with only a five-minute break between each match, for almost three hours. It was seriously only now I fully appreciated the fight club Dimitri had organized for us in Baia. Fighting so many every Saturday had been a bitch – but at least I knew I _could_ do that if I needed to, and thanks to Dimitri's preparations, I was prepped to do it. Same for Eddie and Meredith!

Artyom and Elizaveta came to stand with our group, Eblan and the two guys from the round below following. We stood together, shaking hands and exchanging terse pleasantries as the fight orders were posted. We'd each be fighting seven opponents once, two of us fighting a second time to determine who would be the overall winner.

While it was completely random, fight order could play a big part in your overall success. You wanted your easiest opponents early on, so you could finish them off and rest, so you were prepared for the better fighters later.

All up, I was pleased enough with my draw; Eblan, one of the guys from the rank below, Eddie, then Meredith, the other dude from the rank below, Artyom, and finally Elizaveta. Admittedly I'd be facing off against Elizaveta when I was my most tired, but so would she. Meeting the strongest fighter when you were already exhausted was the worst draw possible, and from the unhappy look on Elizaveta's face, she knew it!

"You got a good draw, ангел," Dimitri reassured me, speaking quietly from where he stood behind me. "Concentrate and remember these people are also fighting to win. Don't fall for the obvious maneuvers."

More than anything, I wanted a long hug from my man right then, but since we were still keeping things on the down low, I settled for one from Lissa and then Abe. Eddie came across to wish me well, as did Meredith. I was surprised when Guardian Croft came over from where he was sitting with Sokolov to shake our hands and give us all his best, too.

And before I knew it, I was selecting one of the plastic practice stakes and was in one of the four squares, shaking Eblan's hand, and that of the referee, waiting for the whistle to signal the start of match one. Dimitri's words echoing in my head, I watched Eblan's fight style, cataloging his patterns. I let him go on the offensive, slipping just out of his reach each time he tried to connect. I was waiting for him to overextend slightly - and then I'd staked him, and he was 'dead.' It was over in under three minutes, and I hadn't raised a sweat.

We shook hands with each other, the referee noting the time, points scored and likewise on a running sheet. The crowd roared their approval, but I ignored them, my eyes taking in the other three fights still ongoing. This had been another tip of Dimitri's – to watch the other matches, when I had the opportunity, to check out fighting styles and also injuries. For instance, I saw Elizaveta had drawn one of the graduates from the previous round first up, and as I watched, he managed to give her a nasty kick to her left hip. That _had_ to have done some damage, so it was a point of weakness worth keeping in mind for my own fight with her.

One by one the fights around me concluded, no one making it through to the twenty-minute mark and needing to be stopped. We all took a five-minute break, timed from the end of the last fight – so it was more like a twenty-minute break for Eblan and me - and then we switched opponents and faced off again.

I didn't get a real challenge until my third fight. Eddie. He was the equal second-best graduate for a reason, and after so many weeks training side-by-side he knew my moves. But then I knew his. Training with Dimitri had done wonders for his technique, and he was able to get some nasty hits in, yet so did I. I was surprised, and a little disappointed, when twenty minutes in we were stopped – neither of us able to defeat the other. Thinking about our fight, I think I'd probably had the upper hand, so hopefully, that would be reflected in my score.

I only had a brief break, and then it was time to fight Meredith. Three months ago I'd been a much stronger fighter than her. She was better, now, than she had been then - but so was I. We were fairly evenly matched in terms of speed and strength, but in the end, my endurance was better than hers. So after eleven minutes of fighting, and one risky aerial kick, I managed to get her to the floor and 'staked' her. Three wins and one draw. So far, so good!

Shaking Meredith's hand, and then giving her a friendly hug, we stood side by side and watched the match between Eddie and Artyom. As equal second placed, they both had something to prove. They were right up on the twenty-minute mark when Artyom managed to kick Eddie in the shoulder, momentarily stunning him. It was all it took, and seconds before the twenty-minute deadline, Artyom scored a kill.

Eddie was too well-mannered to do anything other than shake Artyom's hand, but I knew he was seriously disappointed.

Going into fight five I was in comparatively good shape. Thanks to my early kills, I'd had more rest between fights than the others – and every moment of recovery made a difference when the fighting was so intense and basically constant.

In an attempt to keep things fair, we weren't allowed to talk to anyone other than the referees or our opponents. It would be too easy for onlookers to pass on information about the other fights. Careful to make sure I didn't look at anyone, so could not be accused of cheating, from the corner of my eye I could see my father standing in front of the impromptu betting stands. I'd never been into gambling, so had no idea what the numbers on the chalkboards meant, but Abe seemed to be across it all.

Of course, he was. If there were a way to make money of someone else's endeavors, my father would be on to it. But for a moment I wondered if he was voting _for_ or _against_ me winning?

Round four ended, and the bookmakers checked the results, changing the odds on their chalkboards again. At this stage I think it was fifty/fifty; half the attention focussed on the fighting and the other half on the betting!

Round five started with a whistle blow and, for me, ended one and a half minutes later. My opponent was the lower ranked of the two graduates who'd made it up from the round below. So every competitor he'd faced, so far, had been better than him. He was already tired, and I toyed with the idea of completely wearing him out, but that would only benefit the fighters he faced after me. So I played it strategically, 'killing' him as quickly as I could, before settling in to watch the other fights.

Meredith and Eddie were fighting this round, and she made him work for it, but fourteen minutes in, he had her on her back and staked her. He helped her up, and I wondered whether I imagined the cheeky look on her face, and the astounded look on his when she murmured something to him as they shook hands.

I chanced a glance over to where Dimitri was sitting with Vika, Paul, Lissa, Christian, Emil, and Celeste. He had a look of pride on his face as his eyes fleetingly met mine. Five down, two to go. I could do this! The only thing standing between me, and victory, were the Vitsin twins and an, as yet unknown, opponent.

Round six I was facing Artyom. We did the usual handshake and then stood facing one another waiting for the whistle to blow. When it did, I went straight onto the offensive. Artyom was used to me holding back a little, so I wanted to try and get him off kilter from the outset. But despite a momentary surprise, he was ready for me and was able to deflect the worst of my blows.

I knew there was no point trying to use an aerial with Artyom – he practiced a lot with his sister, and she was adept at them – so I decided to use more of the street fighting moves I'd picked up in Baia. There was a nice double kick I used on his upper inner thigh that did some damage and could have been devastating had I aimed just a little higher. And not long after, I got him in the small of the back with another nasty kick. He was going to be in pain later tonight!

That said, he managed to punch me three times in succession on my right shoulder, causing me to pull back and assess the damage. But if he thought that was going to frighten me, he was wrong. If anything it made me more determined to win!

We stepped closer to each other, boxing more than we were sparring. At one stage I jumped and landed with both feet on his foot, causing a filthy word to escape his lips in Russian. Artyom didn't know Abe had been teaching me the more colorful aspects of the language, so he was surprised when I grunted, "That's no way to speak in front of a lady!"

And so it went, back and forth. I was connecting more than he was, but his strength meant his punches did more damage than mine. I managed to give him a nice elbow to the jaw, which might even have been a break. It was hard to say until he'd had some medical attention. His eyes were watering, so I knew it must have really hurt - but he was determined to continue.

When he feinted to my right, I automatically defended my left, only to find out the right had been his destination the whole time. Recognizing the trap at the last minute, I saw the kick coming and could do little but spin so my side took the worst of it. It was a devastating blow, delivered at full power, to my side knocking me to the ground. I looked up winded and saw Artyom drop to his knees beside me. I heard the whistle and looked down to see the practice stake illuminated bright red pressed against my padded breastplate, showing it had been deployed with enough force to register as a kill. Round six was over. And I had lost.


	62. Chapter 62

I willed the tears away from my eyes. I wouldn't give _anyone_ the satisfaction of knowing how upset I was that Artyom had beaten me. Taking his hand, I let him help me to my feet before turning his grip into a handshake. The only solace I could take in the entire situation was that Artyom looked even more shocked than I felt.

"I didn't think you'd fall for that last move," he said with apology in his voice.

"I should have known better," I admitted, giving him a tight smile.

The two of us stood apart watching the remaining two fights. I was so relieved we weren't the last to finish - at least this way I had time to compose myself before the match with Elizaveta.

I could see Dimitri from the corner of my eye, but I didn't turn to face him. If I did, I might cry, and nothing was less professional than a competitor bawling in the middle of the fights like a big baby. So I schooled my face into a determined mask, mentally going back over the battles in my mind, contemplating what had worked, what hadn't, and when it had been more ass than class. I'd been lucky, and I'd been relying on my speed and not enough on strategy. And I'll admit – losing had come as a shock.

The last competitors finished, we gathered to rest. No one said anything, but Elizaveta's happy grin said it all. Eddie gave me a respectful nod that let me know I had his sympathy. Meredith sat close beside me, and on the pretext of tying her shoe leaned down and muttered under her breath "Wipe the fucking floor with her, Rose."

"Ah ha," I hummed without moving my lips. I had a score to settle, now, and there was no way in hell I was going to let _both_ Vitsins best me!

While we were resting, the bookies were frantically updating their boards. I wish I knew what the squiggles, lines, and fractions on the boards meant. I hadn't been able to keep track of all the wins and loses, so far, so I wasn't sure how I now stood in relation to the other competitors. I was pretty sure Artyom was top-ranked, especially now he'd beaten Eddie _and_ me, but who was in second place I wasn't sure.

One thing that _was_ certain was that I needed to beat Elizaveta and fast if I was to have any chance of being in the top two and making it through to the final fight.

As I was trying to make sense of the bookmaker's scribbles, I was surprised to see Dimitri approach the men there, greeting my father and saying a few words before pulling out a large roll of notes and handing it to one of the bookies in exchange for a ticket.

I had never known Dimitri to bet. If you had asked me, I would have said he wasn't a gambling man. But the wad of dosh he'd just handed over suggested otherwise. And why was he betting now? Did he think I was already out for the count, so was betting on a different winner?

It was hard to believe Dimitri would write me off so quickly, but if he thought I wasn't in to win this, then it was going to cost him. Dearly, if the size of the roll of money was anything to go by. I snorted under my breath. I'd teach him. In fact, I'd teach _anyone_ who doubted just what I was capable of.

The referees called us up. Time for our final fights.

I faced off against Elizaveta, going through the polite motions such as shaking her hand. I expected her to say something snide, and I wasn't disappointed.

"I told you Artyom was the better fighter! He deserved to be Novice of the Year."

"Well I suppose _one_ of you has to be able to fight," I taunted quietly enough so what I said wouldn't be overheard. "He must get sick of carrying your dead weight!"

What I'd said must have struck home, because rather than angry she looked almost fearful. But before I had a chance to wonder about it, the whistle blew, and the fight started.

I knew what I had to do. I knew how I had to do it. I feinted to the left and, just like I had, she instinctively protected her right. Then with every bit of strength I had in me, I kicked directly on her already tender left hip. She toppled, and I staked her as soon as she hit the floor. She'd not managed to get a single blow in, yet the fight was over almost before the echo of the starting whistle had finished. It was a complete and utter annihilation.

Not wanting to be a bad sport, despite my earlier comments, I offered her my hand to help her up.

"Fuck off, Сука!" she snapped vehemently.

She'd said it loudly enough that those in the closest seats could hear, and I noticed Guardians Sokolov and Croft exchange lifted eyebrows in response. I also saw the referee make an annotation on his clipboard. Dimitri hadn't said there were points for sportsmanship, but it made sense there might be. Knowing I couldn't afford to lose a single one, I made sure my response was obviously conciliatory.

"Whatever suits you," I said with a twinkle in my eye, lifting my hands up in surrender and stepping back, and letting her find her own way up from the floor.

I walked across to the chairs set out for our benefit on the edge of the gym. I took one at the end of the row, Elizaveta seating herself at the other end – as far away from me as she could. We both had eyes glued to the final matches but in particular those involving Eddie and Artyom. Eddie won his fight, and so did Artyom, so when the final whistle sounded, I was left wondering who the top two fighters would be. We were all sitting on the chairs waiting for the final verdict – Meredith sitting beside me with Eddie on her other side. She knew she was out of the running, but was confident either Eddie or I would be heading into the final fight.

The tallies were made, and the head referee went over to discuss the results with Croft and Sokolov, who were ultimately in charge. Meanwhile, there was much excitement from the crowd, and I could hear my name as well as 'Vitsin' and 'Castile' being bandied about.

I risked a quick look across to where Dimitri sat, surprised to see my father had joined him. Abe gave me a wide, toothy grin before his eyes moved across to where Guardian Sokolov was stepping up to the microphone.

"The final scores are in…" he started, and I was surprised I could hear him my heart was thumping so hard! He read out the results, starting from the bottom. We'd placed; one of the guys from the previous round, Elizaveta, the other dude from the round below, Eblan, Meredith, Eddie…"

I couldn't hear anything after that. The cheering from the crowd was monumental, and I turned to look at my Russian God's huge smile. Somehow, despite my loss to Artyom, I'd made it through to the finals!

Meredith jumped up from her seat and pulled me up into a hug. After she let me go, Eddie came forward to do likewise.

"I'm sorry, Eddie – I know you wanted it, too…"

"Not as much as I want you to kick his ass," he laughed, hiding his disappointment well.

"I'll do my best, Castile. I have a score to settle!"

I then made my way down the line one by one shaking the other competitors' hands. I stopped with my hand out to Elizaveta, but she flicked her hair and pointedly ignored me. Artyom also shook hands with those he'd fought, and then we were doing our final stretches while we waited to be called to the sparring ring.

It was taking forever, mostly due to the rush of people placing their final bets. I wish they'd hurry up because the nervous tension was getting to me! I signaled to one of the referees that I needed to use the bathroom, and two escorted me across the gym to an office with an attached bathroom. Closing the door, I sat for a minute collecting my thoughts as I emptied my bladder.

I was mentally running through Artyom's fight style, what I'd noticed from today's fighting with him and what I'd witnessed in his other fights. I must have been in there longer than I thought because a knock on the door roused me.

"Is everything ok?" a gruff voice enquired not unkindly.

"Yeah, all good. Sorry. Just thinking strategy," I admitted sheepishly, flushing, washing my hands and opening the door.

We walked back to the main sparring ring, and I noticed there would be an adjudicator on each side during the final match. While it was a untimed match which went until one competitor was defeated, because of the amount of betting involved, the referees would be keeping a close eye on the fight to ensure there were no illegal moves or external interference.

"I hoped it would be you," Artyom said pleasantly as we shook hands again.

"I hoped it would be me, too!" I joked, referring to my uncertainty that I'd scored well enough to make the finals.

Standing back, he gave me a final almost wistful look before he pulled an expressionless mask into place and waited for the whistle.

I was in the air as soon as the whistle sounded. I figured since I'd never used aerials against him, thanks to Elizaveta, he would not be expecting one. And I was right! I got a wicked kick to his right shoulder in, and it was hard enough it made him drop his stake! I landed and spun to take advantage of him being unarmed, but unfortunately, he'd managed to duck and collect his stake, returning to position quickly, so he was ready for me. But from the way he was holding his stake, I'd done some damage.

We circled each other, me getting in a few jabs to his ribs. I mentally congratulated myself when I saw him flinch with one particular punch. He'd done a number on my ribs – I wanted to do the same to his! In return, I copped an elbow in the back and narrowly avoided a knee in the hip. I saw it just in time and got out of the way. I did use the opportunity to jump on his foot again. Same one as last time!

Grunting in pain, Artyom stepped back, giving himself a moment to regroup. I attempted to use the moment to take him out with a low leg sweep, but he was a fraction too fast for me and jumped - but I saw him grit his teeth in pain when he landed. Either the foot or the shoulder was causing him grief. Perhaps both.

While it was a dirty way to fight, my only option here might be to wear him down and continue to injure him until I could take him out. While my pride would like a nice, clean, decisive win via a well-timed and positioned stake thrust, in reality, it was whatever got the job done. And in this case, it might be like survivor; outwit, outplay, outlast.

Artyom was observing me carefully when I saw a telltale slight dip of his head and right shoulder. That could mean me was about to ram me, but it could also mean he was changing his weight ready to do a kick. Given the damage I'd just caused his shoulder, I didn't imagine it would be the former, so I was prepared when it turned out to be the latter. He launched, and I grabbed his outstretched foot, twisting it and using his own bodyweight to propel him onto the ground. He hit the mat leading with his sore shoulder, and he grunted out a word so filthy I pretended not to know what it meant!

Rolling, and back on his feet, I knew one way or another this fight would soon be at its end. Artyom was outclassed, and he just couldn't keep taking the damage I was dishing out – and truth be told I was flagging, too. The jut of his jaw told me Artyom was looking to end this sooner rather than later – and that he'd be throwing everything at me in a last-ditch attempt to come out on top.

An,d that's how it went. As in, Artyom literally raced toward me and used his bodyweight to propel me onto the ground.

And that was a mistake. Knocking the stake from his grasp, I put a hand on each shoulder as together we fell, ready to push him off as soon as we landed. He flopped on top of me, and had he been armed it could have been bad, but as it was, he was powerless to take advantage of the situation he'd created. As I pushed up against him, moving him from my body, I felt a grinding in his right shoulder, and he yelped. He offered almost no resistance as I flipped him onto his back, straddling him as I pushed the plastic stake firmly into the padded breastplate.

In eight minutes, twenty-three seconds, he'd managed a handful of minor hits on me. But I had thoroughly worked him over, winning the St. Basil's elimination fights!

"I should have known better than to think I could do it twice," Artyom muttered looking up at me in a daze as the crowd cheered frantically.

"It was a good fight," I declared graciously, carefully climbing off him; something about his gaze made me suspect Artyom had liked my position seated on top of his hips just a little too much.

Standing up, I called over the medics, letting them know there was something not right with my opponent's arm.

"I heard a crack, and it was painful when Rose kicked it, but landing on it finished it off," I heard Artyom say to one before all the voices in the gym swallowed the rest of his words. I was led across to where Guardians Sokolov and Croft were standing at the side of the gym. The crowd was still cheering, including my usually demure best friend who was jumping up and down and screeching in a most undignified way!

"Ladies and gentlemen! May I present to you Guardian Rose Hathaway, this year's winner of the St. Basil's elimination fights _and_ the graduate with this year's highest training score. Please join me in congratulating Guardian Hathaway on her remarkable achievement!"

There were more cheers as I shook Guardian Sokolov's and then Guardian Croft's hand. I was presented with a medal with the year and the St. Basil's logo on it, with space for my name to be added, and then, after a few more remarks congratulating all the participants and particularly those in the final round, the event was declared at an end.

"Hathaway? Go and see your family and friends, but can I see you in, say, an hour's time? We'll get this engraved for you, and you also need to sign the fight register acknowledging your win," Guardian Sokolov explained, taking the medal back from me. "I'll see you in my office."

I quickly agreed, before making my way across the gym floor to where our group was waiting.

Lissa wasted no time scooping me up into a massive hug.

"I knew it! As soon as I heard about these fights, I knew you could win it! I'm so proud of you! You looked amazing out there, Rose!" she gushed.

"She's right," Christian said, once Lissa had stopped her effusive praise. "You were awesome, and I'm so happy for you!"

I smiled at Christian, but the tall, dark, handsome man standing behind him was who I was most interested in. He stepped forward, gently putting his arms around my waist and bending to kiss me on the cheek.

"I'm so proud of you, ангел" he crooned into my ear. "I knew you could do it!"

"Then how come I saw you place a bet right after I lost to Artyom?" I asked, raising both my eyebrows as I stepped back from him a little, conscious that people were looking and we weren't public, yet.

Dimitri smirked.

"Babushka gave me a stack of cash she's been ferreting away. She told me to put it all on you to win, but not until the end of fight six. It was a good call. As soon as you lost to Artyom, the odds for you to win fell. If I'd placed the bet once it was announced you were through to the finals, the return would have been a _lot_ lower!"

"I thought you were betting against me," I pouted.

"Never," he said with a grin.

I accepted congratulations from Vika, Paul, Emil and Celeste and then a bright flash announced Baba's arrival.

"There's my girl!" Abe declared loudly, returning from the bookmakers with a very pleased expression. "Top graduate and winner of the elimination fights!" he trumpeted, on the very slim chance someone had managed to miss that information.

"Yeah, yeah. How much did you make betting?" I asked rolling my eyes as he swept me into a hug.

"Enough!" he said evasively, "but not as much as Pavel. He correctly guessed the final scoring order of you lot before the final fight _and_ picked you as the winner. He got a return of three hundred to one!"

"How much did he put on it?" I asked in surprise. While I didn't know much about betting, that part I understood.

"$100 US."

Abe sounded a little miffed, and I suppose I could see why when I mentally calculated the $30,000 return Pavel had just received. Even though Abe paid his Guardians well, and as his chief Guardian, Pavel would be paid better than most, $30,000 was a sizeable windfall in _anyone's_ language!

"So do we get a look in, or are you hogging her all for yourself?" Eddie laughed, pushing his way forward, Meredith a step or two behind him.

"Thanks for kicking his ass," he laughed softly. "Or should I say shoulder?"

"Whatever gets the job done," I joked, feeling a little bad about what had happened. Winning was one thing, but I hadn't intentionally broken his arm!

"I'm glad it was one of us," Meredith declared, wrapping her arm around my waist. "Let's go back to guest quarters and celebrate!"

"I can only go for an hour – I have to see Sokolov and sign the register in an hour," I explained.

"Well that's an hour of drinking you can get in," Christian said with a grin as we headed upstairs.

"Come to my suite. I took the precaution of preparing some celebratory beverages," Abe announced.

It took us an age to get from the gym to Abe's suite in guest quarters. People wanted to stop and congratulate Eddie, Meredith and me, and more than one person asked if we had plans for our allocations. But we got there, and as soon as the door closed, Dimitri's lips were on mine.

"So so so proud," he whispered against my lips. "You've worked so hard, and it all came together out there."

I giggled as he pulled me up against him, his hands cupping my ass as he gave me kiss after smoldering, long kiss. When I finally broke away, I could see Lissa and Christian watching our display in surprise. This was the most affectionate we'd been in front of them to date, and I think they were a bit alarmed by how passionate we were. If only they knew!

Abe finally tempted me away from my man by filling the kitchen counter with shot glasses filled with ice-cold vodka. Making toast after toast, we all gathered, downed the glasses in quick succession. I was grateful Abe remembered to pay tribute to Meredith and Eddie's achievements. They'd come third and fourth respectively, which was no mean feat. He also toasted Dimitri for training us, thanked Lissa and Christian for coming to visit and again his own Guardians for their help and assistance, sneaking in a joke that since Pavel had done so well maybe he'd like to share his winnings with us all.

I'd had six shots of vodka, on an empty stomach, so quickly shoveled down a couple of sandwiches before it was time to see Sokolov and claim my medal.

"Do you want me to come with you, Roza?" Dimitri asked from where he was seated on the sofa chatting with Pavel.

"No need. I won't be long. You relax." The look I gave him suggested 'rest while you can.' I had _plans_ for later this evening!

"Back in five," I announced, waving to my family and friends as I ducked out, leaving them to continue the party.

* * *

Forty minutes later I stumbled back into Baba's guest suite, barely able to walk I was crying so hard.

Dimitri was on his feet the second he saw me, his arms open as I threw myself at him, head against his chest as his arms closed protectively around me.

"Rose! What's wrong?!" he asked in shock as I sobbed.

I couldn't answer. Now I was here in his arms I just cried all the harder.

"What happened, kiz?" Abe demanded.

My breath hitching, I finally stammered, "Croft. After Sokolov, _Croft_ was waiting to see me…"

Abe spat some instructions in what I think was Turkish, and Pavel put down his shot glass and moved into another room, returning with what appeared to be a couple of handguns. He passed one to my father, and suddenly Abe was standing next to where I was cradled in Dimitri's arms.

"What did Croft do, Rose?" he asked in a calm, soothing tone, bending to peer carefully at my face. "Did he _hurt_ you?"

"No!" I wailed, finally understanding the direction of Baba's thoughts. "As the winner and the runner-up, they're sending Artyom and me on a mission together. To the Alchemists! The assignment is for _five years!"_


	63. Chapter 63

"Five years?" In two words, Dimitri managed to convey his shock and heartbreak. His arms tightened around me, and I knew he was every bit as distressed as I was.

Quickly placing his gun in a holster I didn't know he wore, and closing his jacket over it, Baba ran his fingers through his hair in agitation, before suggesting we all sit down, calm down, and I tell him everything Croft said.

"Stop crying kiz," he said gently. "This isn't over, yet."

Dimitri scooped me up into his arms and carried me across to the sofa. He didn't need to, I could have walked, but with the prospect of being separated for so long, it was like neither of us wanted to let go for even a moment. Sitting on the sofa, he positioned me on his lap, his arms securely around me. Just being in his arms was reassuring, and slowly my sobs started to subside.

"Tell us all about it, Roza," my Russian God requested, stroking my arm softly.

"I saw Sokolov and got my badge," I said, "and then signed the register. Then Croft came in and asked me to step in next door to the office he's using. I did, and that's when he explained that as the winner of the elimination fights I was being sent on an allocation to the Alchemists. The mission we did a few months back was the test run. They want a male and a female Guardian to go and teach Alchemists in training basic self-defense and self-protection as well as sharing our knowledge about Strigoi and also how Moroi society works. The idea is if it's included in their education, and they know some real Dhampir, Alchemists won't be so scared of us so we'll be able to work together more cooperatively."

The entire room was listening spellbound; Pavel was even taking notes. The festive atmosphere from earlier was now completely gone, replaced by a stunned silence.

"Every Alchemist goes to a training camp for six months as part of their field-agent qualification, and Artyom and I are to be based there. I'm not sure where it is, but it is in the States. As well as doing the training, we're meant to serve as kind of advisors for the Alchemists. Apparently, there's a lot they don't know about our kind, so we're meant to act as the inbetweeners, giving them the info they need and teaching them about how we do things. In return, we're to report back to Guardian Council about what they're up to and how they do things."

"So you'd be in touch with Court, then?" Abe asked shrewdly.

"Yeah. Croft said we'd probably have to fly back there regularly for the Guardian Council meetings."

"I'll make sure Dimitri always has those days off or that we're at Court then," Lissa immediately volunteered. "I know it's not much, but…"

I nodded in grateful acknowledgment. A few hours every month or so was better than nothing at all, but then I wondered whether a relationship could weather _five years_ apart. It wasn't fair to trap Dimitri in a union where we would barely ever see each other. What was the point of being in a partnership when all we'd ever get was stolen moments? Maybe I was better cutting him loose now, so he could find someone he could actually _share_ his life with?

As if he suspected the direction of my thoughts, Dimitri murmured, "We'll be ok, Roza. We'll get through this together. I promise."

"And you'd be teaching the Alchemists self-defense?" Pavel checked.

"Yeah. I think the idea is basic training, but to also give some insight into how Strigoi work."

"And why were you and Artyom chosen?" he pressed.

"Because we went on the earlier mission. Apparently, the Queen promised the Alchemists she'd send her best new Guardians. That's why the top St. Vlad's and St. Basil's students were originally picked for the mission. The Guardian Council wanted to send a male and a female, and so as top and second-top ranked on our training scores and then the fights, that's why Artyom and I were picked. Croft said Tatiana was insistent about being seen to send the very best as a gesture of goodwill. Also, I had an idea about a new integrated reporting system for Guardian kills that I mentioned to Croft, and they want me to be involved in the work on that."

"Can't you just say no?" Christian asked out of the blue. He'd been listening intently and apparently decided it was time to ask the obvious question.

"I'm afraid not. Croft made it clear if I _ever_ wanted to work as a Guardian I would have to go on this mission."

"Can he _do_ that?" Christian blustered.

"He can," Dimitri confirmed. "As Guardians, we don't usually get a lot of choice in where we're sent," he explained.

Abe was stroking his chin in anxiety.

"If Tatiana's made up her mind, there'll be no swaying her," he declared. "Especially on something as important as this. I mean, of course, I'll try, but don't get your hopes up."

We all sat there as the realization sank in. For the next five years, I'd be working away from everyone I knew and loved.

"How did Artyom take it?" Eddie asked.

I shook my head.

"He doesn't know, yet. It turns out I broke his shoulder, so they knocked him out to set it. Croft is going to tell him tomorrow sometime."

"He'll probably be glad to get away from his sister!" Meredith commented wryly.

It was the perfect thing to say. I couldn't help it; I just cracked up! Even Dimitri was smirking as he held me against him. It felt good to release a little of the tension, even if it was at someone else's expense.

As our laughter subsided, I said to Eddie, "Pass me that vodka and a shot glass. I have a reason to get shitfaced now!"

He smiled sadly, standing up to walk to the kitchenette. Something about sitting here with almost everyone I loved felt like my last hurrah, so I might as well drink and enjoy it.

"There'll be time for that later," Pavel told me, gesturing to Eddie to put the bottle down. "I have an idea how to make the best of this."

* * *

"Have you got all your points organized?" Lissa stressed. It was 7 am, and she had come over to do my hair ready for my breakfast meeting with Guardian Croft.

Not that I needed help with my hair, of course. But we were both still getting our head around yesterday's bombshell. Because while Croft's news meant being separated from Dimitri, it would also be five years without my best friend and bondmate. Other than these last few months, we'd been together almost continuously since we were four. Not guarding Lissa but seeing her every day and living together was a very different proposition to not guarding Lissa and seeing her a few times a year!

So I understood why she wanted to spend time together while I was still here. If that meant coming over at 6.30 am and hauling me out of my warm, comfortable bed with my hot, sexy boyfriend so she could braid my hair before putting it into my bun-holder, then help me don my Guardian uniform for the first time, then so be it.

"I have," I grumbled. I was trying not to stress out, and while she was well-meaning, dealing with Lissa's agitation as well as my own was becoming too much.

"You look good," Lissa complimented me, pulling out a camera I didn't know she had on her before making me pose for several shots.

"What?" she asked Dimitri, taking in his amused expression as he leaned against the kitchenette counter drinking coffee. "It's her first day in uniform – we need to take photos!"

"Liss? I'm all done, now. Why don't you go back to your suite? I just want a moment or two with Dimitri before I go."

"Sure. Just come see me as soon as you know," she said brightly. I knew her heart was breaking; I could feel it through the bond. But she was determined to stay positive for my sake, and I appreciated it. If she broke down, I might too – and I needed to be on my A-game this morning.

Dimitri showed her out of the suite before coming to stand beside me quietly. His arms slipped around my waist as he bent down to brush his lips tenderly across mine.

"You can do this," he reassured me.

"We were meant to be past all the stress and worry by now," I replied tersely.

"Trouble follows you around, Hathaway," he chuckled.

"I thought _you_ followed me around?" I joked.

"That too," he agreed, kissing me again. "Now go, before I strip this uniform off you and take you back to bed."

"Like that's meant to tempt me to leave," I laughed, standing on tiptoes to give him a final kiss before straightening my shirt and checking my reflection in the mirror.

"Good luck," my Russian God said.

"Yeah, 'cos nothing is riding on this," I sarcastically replied. "Keep your phone on!" I instructed as I headed out the door.

Outside the suite, the guest accommodation hallways were deserted. The partying had gone into the wee hours last night, although strangely not in the winner's unit. I'd spent the evening in Baba's suite going through every possible argument I could put forward to Croft this morning. Even though Pavel's solution wasn't perfect, the rationale behind it was sound. It made the best of a bad situation, and I could only hope Croft would be open to actually considering what I proposed.

I knew Dimitri was worried. When we'd finally retired to bed last night, he'd held onto me like he was concerned I'd be wrenched from his grasp at any second, and our lovemaking had been sweet and tender. Neither of us said much. We didn't need to. We hadn't slept much, either, mostly lying there quietly in each other's arms.

He was right. I _could_ do this. I _needed_ to do this.

I paused at Croft's door, taking a deep breath before I knocked.

"Enter."

I stepped inside to see Guardian Croft sitting at a desk typing on a laptop.

"A Guardian's work is never done," he joked, saving his work and looking up.

"Thanks for meeting with me so early," I said with a tight smile, sitting when he gestured for me to do so. I'd called last night and suggested we meet briefly this morning before visiting Artyom in the infirmary.

"That's fine. I'm up and working at this time anyway, and it was a good idea to tell Artyom about your allocations together."

Croft was looking at me shrewdly. While I hadn't burst into tears until I'd left his office yesterday, I'd been shocked and dismayed by his news, and he knew it.

"About that. I have some further questions about the allocation…"

"What would you like to know?"

"I was wondering how old the Alchemist students would be? And I assume there'd be males and females?"

"I believe anywhere from fifteen to early twenties, and yes both men and women."

I nodded, the answer being what I'd expected.

"And as well as teaching, we'd be giving them an overview of our world, how the government works, the different ways in which Guardians work, etc."

"Yes, that's right. Her Majesty was keen to stress this is as much an information sharing sort of mission as it is about teaching the Alchemists combat. The Alchemists will be sending two of their own representatives to Court on a reciprocal basis," he explained, giving me information I'd not had before. "They will be serving a similar sort of role."

"Do we know anything about them?" I asked curiously, straying from my mentally rehearsed script as I fished for anything else I could work into my argument.

Croft picked up a file on his desk and flipped through a few pages.

"Yes – there's a girl around your age Sydney Sage, and a fellow a few years older Tristan Bellows."

"Have they recently finished training, too?" I asked innocently.

"Sydney yes. Tristan's been out four years."

Croft could see I had something on my mind, but I wasn't ready to divulge it quite yet.

"That makes sense," I mused. I didn't want to launch straight in with my idea. I had to reel him in bit more.

"Will we be liaising with them at all? It might be useful since we'll be doing the same job?"

"I hadn't thought about that, but it's a good idea. You and Artyom will be flying to Court monthly to report to Guardian Council, and Sydney and Tristan will likewise be reporting in regularly to their people. I am sure periodic meetings could be arranged."

He jotted it down in the file he was holding before closing it and putting it on his desk.

"Shall we visit Artyom now?" he suggested.

It was now or never.

"Guardian Croft? You said if I had another idea about working more closely with the Alchemists, I should mention it. So I feel I should tell you, I have some concerns about this mission."

"If you're going to try and talk your way out of going, you should know my mind is made up, as is her Majesty's," he cautioned.

"No. You made it clear yesterday that I would be going. I understand the Queen has given the Alchemists her word, and she can't go back on that. While it was certainly a shock, I appreciate her position, and I won't let her down."

I paused to let my acquiescence sink in. It would be easier to convince Croft if he knew I'd accepted my fate.

"But I was wondering whether Artyom is the right person to go with me."

I dropped the bomb and sat back, waiting to see what would happen.

"Do you have an issue with Artyom?" Croft asked me. "I've been watching him, and I got the sense he might have an interest in you that you didn't reciprocate, in which case you can be certain that I will speak with him about the need to stay professional..."

"It's not that. I've been fending off unwanted male attention since I got my first bra," I joked, getting a lip twitch of amusement from Croft in response, "and Artyom knows I don't feel that way about him and respects my boundaries," I said truthfully. "It's not that I think he'd do a bad job on the mission – I just think there's a better choice."

"Oh?" Croft enquired.

"Guardian Belikov," I suggested.

"He's not a new graduate," Croft countered dismissively.

"No – and that's probably a good thing. Her Majesty has promised to send her top graduate, but she also needs the best people for the job. I think Guardian Belikov has the experience and skills that make him the perfect choice to accompany me on the mission."

Croft frowned but nodded for me to continue.

"He has experience teaching combat and designing individual training programs - which neither Artyom or I have," I started. "I mean, I'm sure we would learn what works in time, but Belikov is already very experienced in that area, and in a better position to hit the ground running."

Croft nodded, reaching for a notepad to jot my thoughts down.

"He's twenty-four," I lied, shaving a year off his age, "so he's young enough to mix in easily with other young people, but I think his age and experience might come in handy when dealing with some of the older students we'll be encountering. The Alchemists in their early twenties might be resistant to listening to a couple of eighteen-year-olds, especially if they're already a little unwilling to work with Dhampir," I continued. "But I don't think they be able to dismiss Belikov so easily."

Croft nodded, continuing to note my points.

"Another thing is that we're meant to be giving practical advice on how Guardians work and all that, but for Artyom and me this would be our first allocation. We can't give practical first-hand information if we haven't experienced it, where Belikov has individual and group guarded, worked at an Academy, been on a recovery mission, guarded in Russia and America and most recently mentored. He's covered a broad range of guarding applications, so he can speak with authority on how things are done in different places."

"Is that all?" Croft asked.

"Well, finally I'm worried her Majesty might be criticized for sending two relatively inexperienced representatives. It could be argued that by only sending graduates she wasn't committing her best resources. I understand she wanted young Guardians to fit in with the training camp, and she's promised them her top graduate, but it's a huge responsibility for two first-time Guardians. You said the Alchemists are sending a graduate and a more experienced representative, so I thought it makes sense for us to do the same.

"Guardian Belikov was the top graduate in his year, and won the elimination fights, too. He's the youngest ever Blood Master Seven, and he has an impeccable record. No one can argue he is not highly skilled and well regarded. Finally, he was on the original mission, so the Alchemists would already be aware of him and wouldn't have to deal with someone new. For all those reasons, I think it makes better sense to send him as the second Guardian."

Croft looked up from his note-taking.

"You've given this a lot of thought," he commented.

"I have," I admitted. "I'd always assumed I'd be allocated to Princess Dragomir, and that she'd be my charge for the rest of my life. This type of service never occurred to me, and as you saw, it came as quite a shock. But they come first, and if this is how I'm directed to serve, then so be it. It's important to me my mission is a success, and I honestly think Belikov and I would do a better job of it than Artyom and me. If I'm to succeed in such a strategic role, I need to be honest with my ideas and thoughts, so that's why I'm telling you."

I sat back, resisting my urge to ramble. I'd laid it out before him - now Croft needed to take the next step.

"So what would you do if you were me?" he asked testingly.

"Probably call Court and tell them about the idea then talk to Belikov."

"Alright then," he said with a smirk. "I'm not saying it's a yes, but you've given me a lot to think about. How about you go get Guardian Belikov and bring him back here while I make a call?"

* * *

"I think he's considering it!" I announced as I flew into our suite upstairs, surprising Dimitri, Meredith, and Eddie. "He's calling Court to discuss the idea, and he's asked me to bring you downstairs to meet with him!"

Dimitri picked me up and spun me around.

"Well done, ангел!" he laughed with a huge grin. "Guess we'd better go talk to Croft!"

Dimitri was already in his uniform, and I'd run the whole way back to guest quarters, so we indulged in a few kisses before we set off back downstairs.

"It felt like you were gone ages," Dimitri commented as we walked sedately down the corridor side by side.

"I didn't want to spring it on him," I explained. "I had to work up to it."

"Did he ask if you'd discussed it with me?"

"No, he didn't ask. Has Baba been over this morning?"

"No, but he sent Kirk over before to say we'll leave as soon as things are settled here. I packed up all our stuff, so we're ready to go."

"Do Lissa and Christian know?"

"Yeah, he was going there to tell them after us."

We were almost at the Administration building when Dimitri smirked.

"Oh. I almost forgot to tell you… I was standing in the kitchen drinking my coffee after you left when I heard some giggling and a male voice coming from Meredith's bedroom."

"Eddie?!"

He shrugged.

"I think so. I went and had a shower, and they were both in the kitchen getting coffee when I came out," he laughed.

"I'm going to give him shit!" I laughed as we pulled up outside Croft's St. Basil's office.

"We can do this," Dimitri whispered to me as he knocked.

We entered when bidden, and sat in front of the large wooden table, me in the chair I'd only minutes ago vacated.

"Belikov," Hans greeted. "Has Hathaway mentioned why you're here?"

"Only that you wanted to speak to me about an operational matter?"

Croft regarded me approvingly.

"Hathaway Junior and Artyom Vitsin were slated to be allocated on a mission to the Alchemists. A follow up from your mission earlier in the year, it's a combat teaching and fact sharing role. However we've discovered that as part of the reciprocal arrangement, the Alchemists are sending a graduate and a slightly older representative to Court, and her Majesty is of the opinion we should do likewise. For a number of reasons, including your presence on the original mission, it's been suggested that you accompany Guardian Hathaway Junior on the mission in place of Guardian Artyom Vitsin."

Dimitri nodded, not giving anything away.

"It's a long-term mission. Five years, living with the Alchemists at a training camp in New Hampshire. You'd be teaching self-defense during term, but over time it's anticipated you will become more involved in some of the other Alchemist research and data collection activities, giving a Dhampir and Guardian perspective as required. As a live-in position in a relatively remote area, you'd be free to go off-campus on weekends when you wished, and a car will be provided for this purpose. There will also be regular trips to Court scheduled so you can report to the Guardian Council and other travel will probably be required from time to time. Do you have any questions?"

"What will the accommodations be like?"

"My understanding is that you and Guardian Hathaway will have individual rooms in some sort of share accommodation with a communal bathroom, kitchen and living facilities. Beyond that, I don't know. Like last time, her Majesty is putting a lot of importance and resources into this mission, so you'll both be issued with a credit card - anything you need that is not provided by the Alchemists you can put on that."

Dimitri nodded again.

"When do we start?"

Croft smiled, taking this as Dimitri's willingness to accept the reallocation without complaint.

"I understand you've arranged to fly back to Court tomorrow? Guardian Hathaway's allocation will be announced as 'a classified mission' at the allocations ceremony on Monday, but in the meantime, you can both tell your close family and friends you will be serving in New Hampshire with the Alchemists."

"With us both on the mission, Princess Dragomir will need new Guardians," I said, speaking up for the first time. "Can I suggest Celeste Matthews and Meredith Edwards? Celeste is already her secondary Guardian, and Meredith is of a suitable age to blend in at Lehigh."

"Noted, thank you, Hathaway."

"I'd also feel happier if I knew Lord Ozera was taken care of. Maybe Castile for him?"

"Again noted," Croft said with an amused twitch of his lips, and I knew I had 'suggested' enough.

"So… Shall we visit Artyom now?" Croft said, standing and shaking Dimitri's hand and then mine.

"I did break his shoulder; I think I'd better," I said with an embarrassed smile.

"We're leaving in an hour or two, and I don't imagine I'll see him again for some time – I'll take the opportunity to visit, too," Dimitri declared.

"Let's keep his almost involvement in the mission to ourselves," Croft suggested. "It's a huge opportunity, and he would be disappointed to hear how close he came to being a part of it."


	64. Chapter 64

"Breaking his shoulder wasn't _enough?!_ Come to gloat, too, have you?!"

I should have known Elizaveta would be at Artyom's bedside, but somehow it didn't occur to me until I saw her there. She took a good look at me in my Guardian uniform, glaring at me angrily. Artyom, on the other hand, seemed to like what he saw.

Thankfully, Dimitri and Croft trailed me into the room, so Elizaveta shut it after seeing them. But the damage had been done.

"That's enough Guardian Vitsin," Croft rebuked. "Injuries happen in the elimination fights, and I'm sure you and your brother knew that when you agreed to take part."

"I did, and Rose didn't do it on purpose," Artyom agreed, frowning at his sister.

"Still, I'm so sorry about your shoulder," I apologized legitimately to the male Vitsin.

He was in a shoulder cast. Evidently, I'd not done things by half.

"Easy done in a competition environment," Artyom elegantly excused. He was being very forgiving about the injury. While I hadn't intended to break a bone, it did happen. He had a right to be pissed off, and the fact he chose to overlook it spoke volumes.

"True – but I am sorry you were seriously injured."

"We just came by to say farewell. Rose, Eddie, Meredith and myself are off to Baia in a few minutes to say goodbye to my family; then we're leaving for the States tomorrow."

"You have your allocation ceremony on Monday don't you?" Artyom asked, "same as ours?"

"Yes, that's right," I said, not giving any indication I already knew about my allocation. Croft had said we could tell close family and friends, and really the Vitsins were neither. "What are you hoping for?" I asked, thinking if he heard it, Croft might make it happen. It was the least I could do considering I'd broken the guy's shoulder and, unbeknownst to him, also stolen an amazing allocation from him so that I wouldn't be separated from my lover.

"We're hoping for an allocation together," Elizaveta quickly replied, also using Croft's presence to further her cause.

Artyom didn't comment, but from his look, I didn't get the sense he was quite so keen to be placed with his sister. I hope Croft picked up on that as well.

"Keep in touch when you know where you end up," Artyom suggested hopefully.

I smiled and promised him I would. I could feel Dimitri tense a little beside me and had to stop myself reaching out to soothe him. He should know Artyom would never be anything more than a colleague to me.

"We should probably get going," Dimitri said, offering his left hand for Artyom to shake, given it was the right shoulder I'd injured. He shook Elizaveta's hand too. I leaned over and gave Artyom a chaste kiss on the cheek – mostly to piss Elizaveta off although I knew Dimitri wouldn't particularly like it either.

"Get well soon, and stay safe," I said with a smile. I nodded to Elizaveta; Croft gave them both his best wishes, then the three of us left the infirmary.

"Safe travels back to the States," Croft said shaking our hands. "I'll see you at your allocation ceremony on Monday, Rose. If the two of you come and see me afterward, I'll have more details about your mission."

"Thank you, Guardian Croft. Until then," Dimitri said formally before the two of us walked back to our room in guest accommodations.

"I don't like you kissing Vitsin," he grumbled quietly as we walked side by side, keeping a professional distance between us.

"It was on the cheek, Comrade," I laughed. "I broke the guy's shoulder, and now he's stuck in bed with no company except his sister. Let the guy have something!"

Dimitri grunted, but there was still an unhappy set to his jaw as we walked.

I let us into our suite.

"I want _all_ your kisses," he growled petulantly as soon as the main door was closed.

"And you've got them," I promised, liberally peppering him with the sort of kisses Artyom could only _fantasize_ about getting from me!

* * *

"As soon as I have the dates for our visits to Court I'll make sure you have them," I promised Lissa. "And it sounds like we have weekends off. New Hampshire is not _that_ far from Pennsylvania. We could meet in New York on weekends sometimes?"

Lissa and I were sitting together in the middle row of one of the two vans that were transporting us to Baia. From the second she knew Pavel's idea had been successful – and that I would be leaving for a posting interstate soon after we got back to America – she hadn't left my side. Christian didn't even bother _trying_ to take the seat beside her in the van. Instead, he'd claimed shotgun beside Dimitri who was driving. Celeste was in the back row with Viktoria and Paul, the others in a second van with Abe and Pavel.

"There are likely to be some restrictions on what I can tell you about where we are, but I'll call you after we've been there a week and we can have a long chat, and I'll tell you everything I can," I promised.

"But I might not _see_ you for months," Lissa said in a small voice.

"I know," I said, the reality of being so far from my bond mate and best friend finally sinking in. "But you can bet I'll still be checking in on you all the time – and we can schedule times to catch up on the phone or Skype."

"It won't be the same."

"No, it won't," I agreed, not wanting to bullshit her by pretending it was going to be anything like how we'd lived before. "But it's not forever, and this is a lot better than if I'd been allocated to someone else. We could maybe even holiday together? Meet up somewhere cool and hang out like normal best friends!"

That idea cheered Lissa up considerably, and she immediately started extolling the virtues of Paris in autumn instead of spring. I didn't need to be bonded to Dimitri to know he was thinking we'd be saving for a long time on Guardian wages to afford the sort of trip to Paris Lissa had in mind, but I wasn't going to ruin this for her by imposing reality checks on her fantasy!

From the front, Dimitri was pointing out places of interest and commenting on the changes since he'd last traveled this way. We'd traveled to St. Basil's by train, so were getting a different perspective going back to Baia by road. It was a two-hour drive, but the time passed quickly enough.

Lissa was mortified at the idea of visiting the Belikova's without a gift, even though Dimitri and Viktoria assured her Olena wouldn't mind. Since we'd left an hour earlier than anticipated, she convinced Dimitri to stop at a shopping center along the way, and we ducked inside to a florist. Viktoria came with us to translate, as my Russian was still limited to dirty words.

"I should get your father something, too," Lissa worried, looking around the unfamiliar shops perplexed.

"Seriously don't stress about it," I said. "The guy doesn't need anything."

"But we can't show up to stay at his house empty-handed…"

Lissa's anxiety about staying at Abe's was evident through the bond. I knew she was hoping Dimitri and I would stay there tonight, too – but I couldn't ask Dimitri to give up his last night at home with his family in God knows how long. It was only one night, and she'd have Christian, Celeste, and Emil with her.

I spotted a Russian bakery opposite, and it had some of the sweet poppyseed rolls I know Abe liked.

"Buy half a dozen of those for breakfast," I suggested, pointing at the rolls in the display window. "Abe _loves_ them!"

The flowers and rolls purchased, we piled back into the van and set off again, the mood in the van getting progressively more festive the closer we got to Baia.

"We're on the outskirts of town now!" Vika announced as we came around a corner. A little further, and I started to see familiar buildings.

"Only a few more turns!" I excitedly told Lissa. I couldn't wait to show her Dimitri's family house. Sometime in the six weeks we'd stayed there it had become _my_ family house, too – and the Belikova's my family. I'd never had anywhere to call 'home' before. But now I did. It was a new sensation, and I was excited to show my best friend.

"And here we are," Dimitri said with a grin, pulling up outside the house, next to 'my' car. The other van was already parked and empty, so the others must have arrived before us.

"Guess I'll get to see where you grew up, Belikov!" Celeste joked from the back.

She'd been Dimitri's guarding partner for a couple of years, and I could see she was finding this more open version of Dimitri very different to what she was used to. Dimitri had taken she and Emil aside after Tasha left to nervously let them know that he and I cared about each other, and now we were no longer mentor and student we were dating. Apparently, Emil hadn't seemed particularly surprised, but Celeste had been delighted. And if either of them had their suspicions that our romance might have started well before last Saturday's graduation ceremony, they were keeping their thoughts to themselves.

"Come on," Dimitri laughed, "before Mama comes out here and pulls us out of the van."

"Too late," Vika laughed, as the front door opened and Olena and Karolina came out.

The van's sliding door open I stepped out, helping Lissa do likewise.

"Top graduate _and_ winner of the elimination fights?! We're so proud of you darling!" Olena declared, hugging me hard. "Abe was just telling us all about it! _Two_ top graduates in the one family! We're all so proud. Mama has been to the shops three times this morning telling everyone she meets!"

I chuckled, imagining Dimitri's wily grandmother boasting to everyone she knew. Between Sonya's engagement, and now her granddaughter in law or whatever I was topping the year and winning the St. Basil's fights? Well – she had a lot to crow about!

"It's lovely to see you again Mrs. Belikova," Lissa said nervously once Olena had finished hugging me.

"Oh these are lovely, but you shouldn't have. And please, Princess Dragomir, call me Olena," Dimitri's mother said, taking the bunch of flowers Lissa presented her.

"Only if you'll call me Lissa," she smiled shyly. Lissa had only met Olena briefly on my graduation day, but it was impossible not to like Dimitri's mother.

Before I knew it, we were all shown inside, before being shooed out into the back garden where we discovered a scene reminiscent of Abe's birthday party. There was a table laden with every salad imaginable, and presiding over the grill, looking ridiculous in a gingham ladies apron, was Pavel.

Abe's Guardians were almost finished assembling a small open-sided tent and furnishing it with chairs and small tables for the Moroi, while my father was standing in the shade of a tree conversing with Oksana and Mark. I gave them a friendly wave before shepherding Lissa and Christian into the shade where the table with the salads was. Celeste followed dutifully in their wake, but it was impossible to be in full Guardian mode in such a relaxed setting. Lissa and Christian looked a little overwhelmed, so I thought I'd give them a moment to settle in.

"It's such a nice day; I thought we could spend the afternoon and evening out here?" Olena explained, coming toward us with another salad in her hands.

"Great idea, Mama," Dimitri said, appearing beside her and casually putting his arm around his mother's shoulders and dropping a kiss on the side of her head. "Thank you for going to so much effort."

"It's nothing. I'm so happy to have the whole family and so many friends together at once," she confessed.

A few minutes later Kirill appeared at the back door carrying bread rolls and wearing his nephew in a baby carrier. Darya and his mother were following closely behind carrying, yes, _more food!_

"I hope you don't mind? Kirill is visiting finishing the wedding arrangements, so I invited him and his family?" Sonya asked coming over to say hello and greet her fiancé.

"Of course not," Dimitri assured her, doing the necessary introductions. Lissa and I were both pleased when he introduced them to Kirill and his family as 'Lissa, Christian, and Celeste – friends of ours from St. Vladimir's.'

The tent now assembled, I moved Lissa and Christian into the protection of its shade. Abe, Oksana, and Mark soon followed.

"I have feeders arranged in half an hour," Abe said discreetly to Lissa and Christian, recognizing their need for blood as well as food.

"Would there be enough for Oksana, too?" Mark asked solicitously, ignoring Oksana's embarrassed motions for him to remain silent.

"Yes of course," Abe said, looking at a nearby Guardian meaningfully. He scuttled away – no doubt organizing an additional feeder for Oksana.

"Thank you," Mark replied. "Now we are expecting a child, Oksana's need for blood has increased, and I have to remind her to feed more regularly."

Oksana was blushing, but Mark seemed proud to make their very happy announcement.

"Oh what lovely news for you!" Lissa smiled, giving Oksana a glorious smile. And that's all it took – for the next half an hour the two chatted, Oksana quickly revealing herself as a fellow spirit user. Christian was similarly occupied with Mark, the older Dhampir giving Christian tips on dealing with a 'spirited' woman.

Seeing my friends suitably occupied, I used the opportunity to slip away for a moment to chat with other people. Dimitri drifted over to the grill to help Pavel, Kirill, Emil, and Eddie who were busy with the various roasts and other meats cooking, so I ventured across to where Sonya, Karolina and Meredith were deep in conversation.

"… so what's going on?" I caught Sonya asking Meredith.

"I don't know!" she wailed. "It wasn't _supposed_ to turn into anything!"

They clammed up when I approached, but it was too late.

"Don't think I didn't know Eddie was in your room this morning," I announced with a grin before flopping onto a chair beside them. "Spill!"

Meredith groaned.

"You guys were busy planning last night, so Eddie and I went back to the suite to watch a movie. He brought a bottle of vodka with him, and one thing led to another…"

I giggled.

" _Again?!_ I hope it was good?!"

Meredith groaned a second time.

"It was great!" she wailed.

The four of us were tittering like schoolgirls when Yeva appeared.

"So you won," she said approvingly, holding her arms open for me.

"I did, Babushka. But I'm worried… I have a different allocation to what I thought I'd be getting…"

"It is as it needs to be," she said with a knowing smile. "Five years is just long enough."

We hadn't yet told Dimitri's family about his, and my, allocation. But Yeva always _did_ know things.

"Will it be ok?" I whispered fearfully as we embraced.

"It will be exactly as it should be," she assured me, caressing me gently. "You are the best thing that has happened to him."

"He's the best thing that's happened to me."

Yeva nodded.

"That's why you need to be together," she said sagely. "Now help an old woman find a chair," she directed, taking my arm as I led her across to the tent.

"I have a nice bottle of brandy I picked up the other day," Abe announced cunningly just as Yeva had taken a seat. "Can I interest anyone in a snifter?"

Christian and Mark both agreed to try. I could tell Yeva wanted to but didn't want to lose face. After all, she _was_ purportedly a non-drinker.

"Babushka, you should try some brandy," I said with mock innocence. "I've heard it's good for arthritis. A glass or two can't hurt."

"Perhaps a small glass then," she graciously acquiesced. Abe turned to a nearby table with a wicked grin, producing a bottle and pouring everyone a snifter. I had to turn away myself to laugh when I noted Yeva's glass was filled almost to the rim, in sharp contrast to everyone else's, which were maybe one-third full. Abe knew Dimitri's grandmother!

After a suitably ebullient toast, Abe and the others sipped at their brandy. I was chatting with Baba and Yeva when I felt a muscled, manly pair of arms slip around my waist from behind.

"The meat for lunch is ready, Roza," Dimitri told me, rubbing the side of his face lovingly against the top of my head. "We should tell everyone and also announce our new allocation."

I spun in his arms and smiled up at my man. It was time.

We walked hand in hand across to the tree in front of the trestle table where the plates, salads, and now platters of sliced meat were resting. Kirill turned down the music playing, and Dimitri put his fingers to his lips, surprising me with a very loud whistle.

The conversation died, and everyone turned to face us.

Dimitri took the lead, doing all the expected thanks. I stood in front of him, encircled in his arms, not saying anything as he expressed our gratitude for the many kindnesses extended to us, Eddie and Meredith, during our visit.

"Now as most of you know, the beautiful young woman in front of me was the top graduate of St. Basil's this year, and she also won the elimination fights. And if that was not reason enough to celebrate, I am proud to announce that Rose, Eddie, and Meredith were all in the top four for both events! Please join me in congratulating them!"

I stood blushing as the assembled company clapped, grateful when Eddie and Meredith shyly came to stand beside Dimitri and me.

"The other thing I'd like to let you know is that Rose has received word about her first allocation. She's been selected for an exciting mission, and I have been reallocated and will be accompanying her. For the next five years, we're being sent to work with the Alchemists. We're not entirely sure what it all means, yet, but at least we'll be together."

There was clapping and cheers as Dimitri spun me in his arms, leaning down to kiss me sweetly.

"I'd like to say something," I murmured against Dimitri's lips.

He pulled back, a little surprised, but nodded.

"On behalf of Eddie, Meredith and myself, I want to thank Dimitri's family for welcoming us so willingly. As most of you know, I've never had a place to call home – but now I do. Also, I'd like to give a big thanks to my father, Abe Mazur. You've done so much for us, and in a few months, we've gone from complete strangers to father and daughter. I love you, Baba – and I am so proud to be your little girl."

I looked at my dad and was surprised to see him teary. We'd come such a long way.

"Finally thank you, Comrade," I said looking up at my man, love in my eyes. "None of this would have been possible without you."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him another of those kisses Artyom could only dream about.

"Sorry dude, just a handshake from me," Eddie laughed when I finally let Dimitri go. Meredith shook Dimitri's hand, too.

"Come on all – let's eat!" Dimitri said with a grin, wrapping his arm securely around my waist and guiding me over to the food.


	65. Chapter 65

"I don't want to leave," I whispered against Dimitri's chest as we cuddled in his bed in the early morning. The sun had only just risen, so I didn't expect anyone else was awake, yet.

Dimitri's home was my home now, and while I missed the States, I felt at peace here. It was very tempting to stay.

"Neither do I," he confessed, pulling me closer. "But we have a new adventure waiting. Together."

I nodded, nuzzling closer to my man. I knew he was speaking the truth, but part of me wanted to hide here with my Russian God and his family forever!

"Are you excited about our new allocation?" I asked. With the focus and effort that had gone into staying together, I don't think either of us had spent much time thinking about what we'd be doing in our new roles.

"You know, I am. I enjoy teaching, and I loved the freedom of our time at the compound. If it's like that, but we can live together, then it sounds ideal to me!"

"Really?"

"Roza – I just want to be with you. Working and living together is a dream come true for me."

I smiled. While working away from our world for five years seemed extreme, with monthly visits to Court, it might not be so bad. By the sounds of it, our roles were going to be more human based, which meant a lot more time off than most allocations. It was hard to imagine how Dimitri and I could fill whole weekends without work duties, but I was looking forward to finding out.

"Me too," I admitted.

I could barely confess this to myself, and I would _never_ say it to Dimitri or Lissa, but a small part of me wasn't entirely unhappy to be forced away from my responsibility to her. I loved her. I'd always defend her. But being ordered away from Lissa was also a bit of a relief. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I didn't have the obligation of her welfare hanging over me.

"Do you think she'll be ok?" I asked. Dimitri needed no clue about what I was referring to. He knew how much I worried about Lissa.

"She will be," he consoled. "Celeste is an excellent Guardian, and she was very excited at the prospect of going to University with Lissa. If they allocate Meredith, too, she will have an excellent guarding team."

"But it won't be _me."_

"No. But maybe once our terms are served it could be? Do you want that?"

I stopped and thought about it. The obvious answer was yes, yet I struggled to say it.

"I'm not sure," I eventually confessed. "I guess I'll know closer to the time."

"Five years is a long time," Dimitri agreed. "Let's not tie ourselves down to anything so far away. We'll know what's right for us as we go along."

I murmured in acquiescence, not wanting to admit how much I liked the idea of not being tied to anything or anyone other than him. Because more than anything, I loved hearing Dimitri talk about _us._

"There's still a few hours until anyone will be up," Dimitri crooned suggestively. My ribs were sore after the fights a day and a half before, but my desire won out.

"Maybe we need to claim this bed one more time?" I giggled flirtatiously.

"It might be a while before we're back here," my Russian God agreed, sensually bringing his lips to mine before rolling me onto my back, positioning himself between my thighs.

* * *

An hour later we were both well and truly satiated. Dimitri was on his side, curled around me, his head resting on my bare breasts. I was stroking his hair, enjoying the closeness. There were sounds of the household starting to wake, and I knew it wasn't long before we needed to rise.

"I want to come back soon," I whispered, referring to the house where he grew up. The place where I felt we could both be ourselves.

"We will," he promised with a sweet smile.

And then it was time. We repacked the few things we'd taken from our duffels, stripped the bed and then moved together to the bathroom to shower and dress before heading downstairs.

Olena was already up, cooking breakfast for us all. Dimitri and I sat down with coffees, chatting with his mother. We all pretended not to notice when the door to Meredith's room opened, and Meredith emerged followed by a red-faced Eddie. Things were progressing quickly now!

Over the next ten minutes, Vika, Yeva, Karolina, Paul, and then Sonya appeared, and we all sat around the kitchen table. It was companionable and easy, and I knew it was these sort of casual interactions I was going to miss the most.

"In time you'll make your own home," Yeva grumbled to no one in particular as she waddled over to the table, seating herself in her customary place.

We all accepted her comment, although I knew it was directed at me.

We'd finished eating, and I was helping Vika with the dishes when Abe, Lissa, Christian, Celeste, and Pavel arrived. We all sat down with coffee in the living room.

"So are you looking forward to being back at Court?" Karolina asked.

"A little. I'm looking forward to seeing all my classmates and finding out where they're going to end up."

Since I already knew my allocation, that wouldn't be a surprise, but I was itching to know where the other St. Vlad's graduates were going to be posted – particularly Eddie and Meredith.

"And I need to see Mom. She said she'd be at the allocation ceremony."

"Yes about that," Abe said urbanely, not quite meeting my eyes. "The allocation ceremony is a big thing. I thought I might fly over with you lot so I can be there for it."

The original plan had been for Baba to stay in Russia when we flew back to the States. It would no doubt be a while until I'd be able to see him again, so I welcomed a few more days together back in the States, but I thought there might be a little more to his visit.

"Are you going to tell Mom you're coming?" I asked him suspiciously.

As I expected, his face fell into a mask of complete, and completely artificial, innocence.

"It might have slipped my mind," he owned, having the good grace to look at least a little sheepish.

I held up my hands in front of me in surrender.

"Fine. Just don't upset her until _after_ I've told her about Dimitri and me, alright?"

"Do you think she'll be upset?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"I think it's a good thing we'll be living with the Alchemists in an unknown part of New Hampshire," I predicted. "In five years time, she might have calmed down."

"Roza," Dimitri gently chided, "she's not _that_ bad." But somehow his tone lacked conviction.

* * *

Saying goodbye to the Belikova's was hard. A lot harder than I'd anticipated. I was crying before I'd finished my first hug, and Meredith was teary, too. By the time Olena and I shared a long loving embrace, I was bawling and so was she. Dimitri was downcast as we clambered into the vans ready for the drive to Omsk. Recognizing Dimitri and I were feeling flat, Lissa graciously left the seat beside me free for Dimitri, instead sitting behind us with Sparky.

Meredith and Eddie were again in the other vehicle in what was a blatant attempt to avoid my questions about last night's sleeping arrangements. I giggled, imagining the fun I was going to have with the two of them when they were trapped on a plane with nowhere to hide!

Lissa was busily focused on charming some silver for me to wear. Oksana had explained about the charms and described how to make them. Lissa had spent the afternoon practicing, and once she'd got the hang of it, she promised it used very little spirit. I slipped one on, a silver necklace, and the effect was instantaneous. A pressure I'd barely known I was carrying was gone, and I felt much more at peace.

"That's better, isn't it?" Lissa said gleefully, noticing the change in my expression. "When we get to Court I'll buy a stack of silver. Oksana said I need to use my magic at least once a week, so when there's no other call for it, I'll make a stockpile of charms. She said you'll need them more if I have to use a big block of magic, so I'll prepare some in advance."

"Does the magic last?"

"Yes. The silver can hold it for several years. What would you prefer? Rings? Necklaces?"

I thought about it. Rings were probably out. They just weren't practical what with the punching and all that. Necklaces were likewise unwise – they could be used to choke me.

"What about a bracelet or wrist cuff?" I suggested.

Lissa nodded, telling me she knew just the shop at Court and we could pick some up when we arrived.

The trip to Omsk was uneventful, and we arrived at the airport in the late afternoon. Baba had arranged for feeders for himself, Christian and Lissa – so they disappeared with a handful of Guardians into a side room while the rest of us waited in the sparse seating area. Half an hour later we were all on board, the plane had lifted into the sky, and Dimitri was leaning across me, looking down at the countryside and saying goodbye to his homeland, again.

"We'll be traveling via London again," Abe explained once we'd leveled out. "We'll refuel there and then continue."

"It feels weird to be going home," I said a little sadly to Dimitri.

"I know, Roza," he said, picking up my hand and kissing my knuckles. "But you'll be happy once we're there."

We ended up watching a movie, me curled up on Dimitri's lap like a sleepy kitten. Now I was wearing the charmed jewelry, the pesky ghosts didn't bother me, but I was feeling tired. In fact, the credits had barely started rolling when I felt Dimitri pull a blanket over us and I cuddled my face into his neck and slept.

I woke up parched and disorientated a few hours later.

"Hey," Dimitri crooned as I opened my eyes. "We're just about to land in London to refuel."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A few hours."

"You should have woken me."

"I like holding you," he explained.

 _He spent the whole time playing with your hair and watching you with a goofy grin on his face_ Lissa told me through the bond, without looking up from where she sat opposite us, flicking through a Lehigh prospectus.

"I liked being held by you," I replied sweetly, taking his face in my hands as I gently kissed him.

"I've ordered feeders in London," Abe mentioned from across the aisle. "I thought you lot might want to stretch your legs and visit the food court?"

It was a good idea. There was food onboard, but I had a hankering for a burger and lots of chips. And… "Hmm, chocolate shake," I moaned.

"Do you think of _anything_ but your stomach?" Eddie laughed from a few seats back.

"Shut it, lover boy," I growled, suddenly remembering I'd not yet had a chance to grill him over where he slept last night.

Christian chuckled from where he sat opposite us. I think he enjoyed seeing someone else getting the sharp side of my tongue.

"Pick me up a burger and a shake?" he asked, keen to stay on my good side.

"Sure," I grumbled, getting up to use the bathroom before returning to my seat and strapping in for our descent into London.

The terminal was busier this time, but we found seats in the food court and split up, each returning with our food. I was unsurprised to see Dimitri had chosen pizza – it was his favorite fast food indulgence!

Celeste was sitting with some of Abe's Guardians a table or two over, Emil having accompanied Baba and some of the other Guardians with Lissa and Christian. Eddie, Meredith, Dimitri and I were sitting together eating. I was dying to quiz Meredith or Eddie about what was going on between them, but I had to wait to get one of them alone.

"So what are you hoping for with allocations?" I asked. I hadn't mentioned my requests to Croft in case they didn't come off.

Meredith shrugged. "I'm hoping for someone young. I know it will be a woman, but an old Royal at Court would be boring as hell."

Dimitri and I nodded. Being female, Meredith was bound to be allocated to a woman, and while guarding aged Royals at Court was safe, it was considered a slow death in Guardian circles.

"If it's not too late, I was thinking I might ask Christian if he was interested in having me as his Guardian," Eddie said looking embarrassed. "I know it was meant to be you, Rose, but with you going to the Alchemists… Do you think he would be interested?"

I grinned.

"I think he would be. Ask him before we go back on board. If he rings a request through, it might not be too late?"

Eddie was looking a bit bashful.

"I could bring it up if you'd like?" I offered.

"Would you?" he asked with a smile. Eddie, for all his virtues, was still backward at coming forwards putting himself out there.

"Yeah leave me to it," I reassured him, taking a bite of my burger and humming in pleasure.

We met up near the boarding gate twenty-minutes later, me carrying a couple of paper bags with extra food for the plane. I handed one to Christian.

"Hey, fireboy? I was thinking now you won't have me guarding you, maybe you could request Castile? He's got some wicked skills, and he won't give you shit the way I would have…"

Christian looked a little embarrassed to be put on the spot, but I could see he liked the idea.

"You interested?" he asked Eddie in an unusual display of candor.

"Yeah. I'd be up for that," Eddie confirmed, nodding his head.

"Ok. Sounds good to me," Christian replied.

"You should ring Guardian Headquarters and put through a request now," I counseled, suppressing my grin at the awkward way the two men were interacting with each other. They both wanted this, but I suppose it _was_ a rather personal discussion.

"That's a good idea," Lissa said, stepping in and smoothing the moment over with her effortless charm. "My phone has roaming," she mentioned, fishing it out of her bag and passing it to Christian.

Dimitri, Meredith and I wandered over to a nearby shop to give them their privacy as they arranged the particulars. I was looking for a movie or something to pass the hours from London to Pennsylvania.

"We should buy this!" I giggled, looking at a boxed card set called 'truth or shots.' A bit like the 'never have I ever' game, this had the advantage that the cards were a bit more generic, and so we couldn't ask devious personal questions.

"That's a drinking game," Meredith pointed out.

"I know," I said with a wicked grin. "None of us have to drive at the other end, and we'll be in international airspace. I never _did_ get the chance to get shitfaced after my win…"

I batted my eyelashes at Dimitri hopefully. I didn't want to get _too_ drunk, but a few drinks with my best friends was overdue. It had been a hell of a few months for all of us.

"Fine. But don't go silly!" he said, as I pulled him by the hand over to the alcohol section. Ten minutes later we were back at the gate, Dimitri carrying two bags of bottles. He sounded like a milk truck!

"It seems like too much," he said, referring to the numerous bottles.

"Think of how many of us are on board," I replied persuasively neglecting to mention I knew Baba's Guardians were unlikely to take part.

My Russian God grunted. I knew he didn't like the idea of me drinking to excess, but we'd be in a private enclosed space with my friends, my father, and his Guardians. It didn't get much safer than that.

"And I brought movies to watch first," I cajoled, holding up Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2.

"What are they about?" Dimitri asked, eyeing the covers distrustfully.

"It's about a guy and girl, and they fall in love in college," I said innocently, choosing to overlook Dimitri's admittedly warranted suspicion.

Back onboard we settled back into seats. I'd announced the idea of a movie, so Eddie, Meredith, Christian, Lissa, Celeste and Kirk and Dimitri and I took the front seats. Further forward there was an open area with low bench seats on each side surrounding a central coffee table and a large screen above. We'd move there once we'd taken off.

"Baba? I hope you don't mind, but I bought a drinking game and some spirits for later on. None of us has had a chance to cut loose for a while," I wheedled.

"That's fine – let your hair down. It will be late Saturday when we get back, and you don't have any commitments until Monday."

I held on to my Russian God's hand as we again took into the sky. Lissa and Christian were sitting opposite Meredith and Eddie, and I could see Eddie was busy talking with Christian about the potential allocation.

"He's not your Guardian yet," I warned Christian. "Tonight it's about friends chillaxing together," I demanded.

"Yeah yeah, keep your hair on, Rosie," Christian snarked. But he laid off the professional talk and so did Eddie.

As soon as we'd leveled out, I put on the first movie, and we moved to lounge on the front sofas and floor.

"Acapella singing?!" Eddie groaned. "You're fucking shitting me?!"

"I think it's wonderful," Lissa said reprovingly, silencing Christian's unspoken criticism that was about to follow.

And so we settled in to watch. I sat on the sofa, Dimitri sitting on the floor in front of me, leaning back into my embrace. I could feel him relax as I massaged his shoulders, occasionally bringing my fingers to his lips and allowing him to kiss them. Lissa and Christian were cuddled side by side on the sofa. Eddie was next to them, but I noticed that while Meredith was sitting on the floor to one side, she was leaning against his leg. Later in the movie, he was toying with her hair. Even Celeste and Kirk were sitting closer than I thought strictly necessary. I hadn't picked those two, but now I thought about it, they made a good match.

"Surely one film is enough," Christian wailed after we'd finished the first movie.

"I heard good things about the second," Lissa said sweetly, knowing it didn't matter what the film was – he'd watch it if she wanted to.

She sealed the deal with a few kisses with Christian while I replenished the snacks, and we started the second film.

"Sequels always suck," Eddie announced as the second set of credits rolled.

"That's bullshit!" Kirk declared.

"Where's your proof?" Christian challenged.

"Batman Returns, The Temple of Doom and Aliens," he triumphantly affirmed.

"Got anything from _this_ century?" Christian scoffed, sparking a long discussion about the filmmaking of today versus the modern classics.

"I think it's time to bring out the vodka," Dimitri said reluctantly as Kirk started espousing the supremacy of 'The Godfather II' over the original.

"It was the second film, but it's actually the prequel," Kirk was explaining to a largely disinterested audience.

"Yeah, and it came out _before my Mom was born,"_ Eddie sniggered.

"Time for a drinking game!" I said, sitting up in my seat and pulling across the bags that held the vodka, plastic shot glasses and the card game we'd bought in London. "Truth or Shots! Each card has a scenario or question on there – you've either got to tell the truth about how you feel or if it happened to you, or take the shot!"

I set up a couple of lines of shot glasses on the coffee table, filling them with vodka. One by one we all made our way to sit on the floor, me sitting in between Dimitri's thighs and leaning back against him.

I opened the cards and pulled them out, splitting the deck at random.

"Who's the most inappropriate person you've fantasized about?" I crowed, reading the back of the card.

I looked around, and there were some red faces.

"My mentor!" I announced with a cheeky grin. No surprises there!

"My student," Dimitri chimed in, kissing my neck sweetly.

Lissa, Christian, and Eddie quickly downed shots. I tried probing Lissa's head, but she was blocking me, pointedly going through her timetables so I wouldn't 'hear' her thoughts.

Meredith glanced around cheekily.

"Miss Karp," she stage-whispered. My eyes flicked to Eddie to see him looking, frankly, very turned on!

"I know he's old, but you've gotta admit, Guardian Croft is pretty hot…" Celeste said with a giggle. Kirk looked a bit put out and downed a shot.

I passed the deck to Dimitri who selected a card.

"How often do you fake orgasms?" his richly accented voice read.

"Never needed to," I said with a wicked grin at my love.

"Same here," he replied raising an eyebrow salaciously.

"Never!" Lissa said although I could tell through the bond she was lying. Poor fireboy. And more to the point, poor _Lissa!_

"Same!" Christian said with a happy grin.

"Been so long I can't remember if I faked it or not," Celeste grumbled.

Kirk mumbled, "Well, _that's_ a damn pity!" before announcing he, too, didn't fake.

Meredith and Eddie likewise said they hadn't, so that round was a bust.

Dimitri passed the deck to Kirk.

"What is the silliest thing you have an emotional attachment to?"

Celeste immediately downed a shot, and so did Dimitri.

Lissa mentioned a teddy her brother had given her, Christian a book he'd had since childhood. Everyone else's responses were equally innocuous, and I declared mine to be a tube of lipgloss. I was curious about Dimitri's, so filed away the question to ask later.

Kirk passed the deck of cards to Celeste.

"What's the weirdest sex toy or thing you've used during sex?"

I picked up a shot glass and handed it to Dimitri before downing one myself. We both giggled a little as we did so.

 _What was it?_ Lissa squealed through the bond.

I raised my eyebrows and my shot glass to her, letting her know I wasn't going to divulge anything.

In the end, she took a shot, too - but only because she was embarrassed that she and Sparky never used anything. I'd always wrenched myself out of there before I witnessed too much – but I was getting the impression Sparky wasn't the most adventurous lover.

"I can hear you guys, you know!" Abe called out benevolently from the back of the plane.

"I didn't say _anything!_ " I shouted back.

"Yes. And that's what worries me," he laughed.

Dimitri looked a little worried but calmed down when Eddie took the pack and asked the next question.

"What is your best physical attribute?"

"My ass," Kirk grinned.

"My eyes," Lissa said demurely.

"Tits!" I said playfully, squeezing mine through my top.

"I'll second that," Dimitri murmured before raising his voice. "My abs."

"I disagree," I purred giving him a very loaded look.

"Gross guys!" Eddie interrupted, getting what I was referring to. "My hair!"

"You _do_ have wicked hair," I agreed, mostly to move the conversation away from my favorite part of Dimitri. The others named innocent enough parts of their anatomy and then it was Meredith's turn with the deck.

"What's your most embarrassing moment?"

The only one not to drink this time was Lissa.

"I was in a change room, and when I went to get redressed, my bra was missing. I thought some pervert had stolen it from under the change room door, but two hours later I was passing a shop front in the mall and saw it was hooked onto the back of my sweater…"

I was actually crying I was laughing so hard. Christian and Dimitri were doing their best to look sympathetic – but the rest of us were howling.

"I never knew that!" I gasped, smacking my knee with laughter.

"I was too embarrassed to tell you!" Lissa said with a small grin.

We kept playing, round after round, and while I didn't drink _every_ round, I'd had enough that by the time the pilot announced our descent into Court I was feeling decidedly merry.

"You're drunk, ангел," Dimitri laughed as I tripped over my own feet getting back to my seat.

"I'm not," I argued. "I'm just a little _happy."_

"Ahha," he agreed disbelievingly. "I am not sure you can even walk off the plane."

I might be drunk, but I was going to make the most of the increased privacy as we were strapped in side-by-side, ready to land.

"I want to sleep next to you tonight," I moaned into Dimitri's ear as we were about to land. "Take me to bed, _Guardian Belikov,"_ I demanded suggestively. "I need a big, strong man like you to take care of me."

Dimitri growled in agreement, kissing me passionately as we taxied across the runway. The sun was high in the sky, and the airfield would be deserted, so he waited until we had halted and the airplane door had been opened before he unstrapped me and lifted me up.

My legs wrapped around his hips. He had one hand on my ass supporting me, the other tangled up in my hair. He'd occasionally kiss the side of my face. For my part, I was busy on his neck, giving him sexy open-mouthed kisses, and whispering salacious red hot suggestions in his ear. I couldn't wait to end up in bed with him in the Guardian dorms.

He had me all the way to the aircraft hanger before disaster struck.

"Rosemarie? Guardian Belikov?! Can you explain to me why my daughter is dry humping you and why you're letting her?!"

"Well, shit!" I giggled as Dimitri quickly set me on my feet, standing by my side and holding my elbow to keep me upright as I swayed alarmingly. "Hi, Mom!" I gasped, taking in her enraged expression. "Long time no see!"


	66. Chapter 66

Dimitri was right. I was drunk. And in front of me stood not one but two blurry Janine Hathaways.

She was opening her mouth to say something when her gaze flicked behind me, and her attention was diverted elsewhere. I could literally _see_ her chest swell up with fury, and I swear her face went as red as her hair. And then she detonated.

"Well I suppose I can thank _you_ for all this!" she shrieked, moving past me dangerously.

"Janine!" Abe boomed genially. "What a _delight_ to see you here!"

"Delight my fucking ass," my mother snarled her accent thickening by the second. "Why is my daughter drunk, and more to the point why is she wrapped around her mentor?!"

"Both excellent questions," Abe replied with confidence. "And I'd be delighted to answer them both at length over a glass of wine or a meal."

"I'm not falling for any of your bullshit, Ibrahim, and I think there's been _more_ than enough alcohol involved already, don't you?! I want to know what's going on and I want to know right now!"

I'd turned to watch the exchange between my parents. I knew I should probably be worried, but I was too drunk to care. In fact, as if to underscore that point, I let out a little giggle.

Mom turned around to look at me, the rest of the plane's occupants using the opportunity to slink off toward the arrivals hangar, keen to escape the legendary wrath of Guardian Hathaway, Senior.

"Yes about that," Abe said, deftly diverting Mom's attention back to himself. "Well, the young people were celebrating. Remember the drinking age is eighteen in most other places. They've all been working so hard, and Rose hasn't had a chance to celebrate being the graduate with the top training score and then winning the elimination fights. I thought they deserved to cut loose a little. Belikov was just helping Rose to the van."

Fuck. Fuck-de-fuckity fuck. With everything that had gone on, I'd not called and told Mom about my score or my wins. She was going to go thermo-fricken-nuclear. Def-con one.

She spun and looked at me.

"You were the top-ranked graduate?" she asked astounded. "At St. Basil's?"

"Yep," I managed to reply without swaying. "Training score of ninety-six!"

She stopped and considered this.

"And you won the elimination fights, too?!"

"Yeah. Eddie was third and Meredith fourth!"

"Why didn't you ring to tell me!" she wailed, looking genuinely stricken. It was an explosion, but not of the sort I'd been expecting. "My only bairn the _top graduate,_ and I didn't know!"

I looked up at Dimitri in astonishment. Mom was upset alright.

"Janine – she wanted to tell you face to face. It's too important a thing to say over the phone," Abe stepped in, once again attempting to smooth things over between my mother and me.

"That's right, Mom. I was going to call you in a few hours and take you to breakfast and tell you then," I lied, slurring my words only a little.

"Top graduate," she gasped, pulling me into her arms for a hug. "And the winner of the fights! I'm so proud, Rosemarie!"

"Um, thanks?" I replied, returning Mom's hug while looking over her shoulder at my Russian God. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Fat lot of help _he_ was!

"Mom? We've all been traveling for hours, and we're tired. Do you have the morning off? How about we meet for breakfast, and I can tell you everything then?" I said trying to sound reasonable and not three sheets to the wind.

I'd stepped out of her embrace and swayed, Dimitri immediately reaching to steady me. Mom's eyes snapped to where he securely held me, one hand on my elbow, the other on my hip.

"I have all day off," she admitted. "And that would be lovely. You'll tell me _everything?"_ she pressed.

"No holds barred," I vowed with a giggle. "Are you staying in the Guardian dorms?"

She nodded.

"I'll come get you once I'm up," I promised.

"Let's get out of this light," Pavel suggested, shooing Abe toward the terminal where the others were waiting for us with curious eyes.

Lissa and Christian were both pretty intoxicated, but Lissa's good manners carried her through saying hello to Mom. Abe offered Mom a lift back to Guardian accommodations, graciously giving her a seat next to him while Lissa and Meredith pulled me into the rear seat with them. Dimitri wisely traveled with Eddie in the other van. Mum had seen what she'd seen, and she knew something was going on, but thankfully she seemed to realize now wasn't the time or place to discuss it!

Ever skilled at distraction, Abe mentioned to Mom he had videos of my final fights on his phone. Her interest outweighing her significant animosity toward Abe, Mom accepted his phone, the two of them leaning over the small screen, Mom watching the fights while listening to Abe's running commentary of what had happened in the lead up to each round.

We stopped at the Ozera's house on the way to the dorms, dropping off Christian, Lissa, Emil, and a tipsy Celeste. Mom was so engrossed in the videos she didn't seem to have twigged that Celeste was affected by alcohol, which was probably for the best all around. Even though Celeste was off-duty, Mom would doubtless have plenty to say about it. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when the Royal Moroi were safely delivered home, and we could proceed to the Guardian dorms.

The vans pulled up, and Meredith helped me from the vehicle. Eddie and Dimitri climbed out of the second van, Dimitri doing a remarkable job of trying to be invisible, despite his size.

"I'll see you tomorrow, darling," Abe said, giving me a sympathetic look before the side to the van closed and he was whisked away, presumably to the townhouse he stayed in when visiting Court.

Mom already had a room allocated on the second floor of the dorms, but she stayed irritatingly close as Meredith, Eddie, Dimitri and I were assigned separate rooms by a half-asleep Guardian in the admin office. Abe's Guardians would all be staying at his place, so it was just the four of us getting rooms here. Our quarters were on the third floor, so Meredith grabbed my key and hers, and shouldering our bags, we walked up the stairs trailed by my mother. The cowardly guys were following behind, giving my mother and me 'space.'

"I'll see you in the morning, Rosemarie," Mom said in a tone of voice that was simultaneously threatening and tender; like she couldn't decide if she wanted to kiss me or kill me. Knowing Mom, it could well be both.

"Sure thing, Mom," I replied with a wave over my shoulder, continuing upward as she turned off on the second story landing.

I barely made it to my door. Guess I'd had more of those vodka shots than I'd thought.

"You're such a lightweight, Hathaway," Eddie teased, coming up behind us and giving Meredith a sexy look. She responded with a wink, helping me into my room before slipping out with a 'night night' and a wicked grin. I turned to the door and found my Russian God standing uncertainly in the doorway.

"Roza? You've had a lot to drink. Maybe I should sleep in my own room tonight?" Dimitri suggested.

"I didn't have that much," I grumbled. "I counted!"

"It's the altitude," he murmured, stepping forward to wrap me in his arms. "It affects you much quicker."

"You could have told me that _before_ we started drinking."

Dimitri closed the door and was helping me strip out of my clothing.

"That feels nice," I murmured as his thumbs rubbed at the muscles of my neck and shoulders.

"I should go," he muttered.

"I want you to stay," I countered petulantly.

"You're drunk, ангел. I don't want to take advantage of you."

"But who'll look after me?" I asked innocently, pulling out the big guns. Dimitri was always a bit paranoid about my safety.

"Fine," he murmured. "But _only_ sleep," he declared, shucking off his clothes and stripping to his boxers.

"Ah ha," I agreed climbing into the bed wearing just a pair of panties. The second his arms wrapped around me, I knew he'd give in.

"Night Roza," he crooned, pulling me into his arms. I had just enough time to register his divine manly scent, and then I was asleep.

* * *

There was a loud knock at the door and I opened my eyes with a groan. No sentient being deserved to feel as shitty as I did, today. I rolled out of Dimitri's grasp, groaning as I found the TShirt he'd been wearing on the plane. I shrugged it on, pausing for half a second to enjoy the unique manly scent that was Dimitri's.

"What?" I growled, opening the door, expecting to see Meredith or Eddie. I hadn't been expecting to see five-foot of red-haired Guardian otherwise known as my mother.

"Mom!" I gasped, suddenly conscious I was standing almost naked, wearing only panties and a man's TShirt that was almost a dress on me.

"It smells like a brewery in there," Mom blustered, pushing past me and yanking back the blockout drapes before throwing open the window to let the room air. It was still dark inside, but as she turned to face me, I saw her take in the six-foot, seven-inch tall man lying on his stomach in my bed, his plentiful muscles artfully lit by the moonlight. His hair was loose, and he had a peaceful, innocent expression on his face as he slept. I'm sure Mom didn't appreciate it, but I loved the sight of my man slumbering, and the endearing little snores he was making.

"Do not shout," I growled at my mother. "I am going to wake Dimitri, and then we're going to have a nice, calm, _civil_ discussion about this."

I think it was my mother's shock seeing her suspicions confirmed, but surprisingly Janine sank onto one of the two chairs in the room, her mouth shut but her eyes wide.

Giving her an approving nod, I took a couple of steps, kneeling on the edge of the bed and shaking Dimitri gently.

"Dimitri? Wake up."

My gorgeous man rolled onto his side, his arm searching the otherwise empty bed for me.

"Dimitri…"

"Don'twannawakeupwannacuddle," Dimitri grumbled adorably.

"Comrade? You seriously need to wake up!" I said brushing some loose hair from his face.

My Russian God groaned, opening bleary eyes to look at me.

"There you are," he groaned, reaching up with surprising speed and hooking an arm around my waist before pulling me onto the bed beside him, my back pressed up against his front.

" _Dimitri!"_ I hissed, swatting at his arms and rolling out of his grasp. "You need to wake up. _My mother is here!"_

"That I am," Janine said in a low, steely voice.

Well, _that_ got his attention.

Dimitri sat up in bed faster than lightning, looking around the room in confusion and alarm. His eyes ended up resting on my mother who was sitting stiffly on a chair to one side of the bed. She wasn't saying a word. She didn't have to. Her fierce gaze was _more_ than enough to illustrate her present mood.

"Guardian Hathaway!" he gasped, caught like a deer in headlights as Mom took in his state of undress.

"Yes?" I smirked, leaning over and giving him a sweet kiss and reminding them both that I, too, was a Guardian and a Hathaway. No amount of being subtle was going to appease my mother - so I was going with the band-aid approach. "Comrade? Why don't you go get dressed?" I suggested pleasantly. "And bring me a couple of Advil."

Dimitri climbed out of bed and scuttled across to the bathroom in his boxers, quickly shutting the door. I took pity on him and picked up his duffel. Knocking on the door, I said "Just me, Comrade" and opened the door, placing his bag on the floor inside before closing it.

"You are going to stay calm," I said seeing my mother building up to an explosion. "The walls are thin in Guardian dorms, and _none of us_ want to be Court's latest gossip."

I rubbed my throbbing temples, supremely envious when I heard the shower in the bathroom hiss into life. I bet Dimitri was about to take the longest shower of his existence!

"As you've no doubt gathered, Dimitri and I are seeing each other," I said bracing for an onslaught that strangely never came. I eyed my mother warily before I continued.

"Neither of us was looking for it or expecting to form an interest in the other," I stated, "but living and working so closely together it just happened."

"When?" Janine growled, her eyes not leaving mine.

"Relatively recently," I prevaricated, not wanting to go into specifics, yet not wanting to outright lie. "We became a couple in Baia, but have kept our interest low key. Only our close friends and family know."

Mom was nodding, taking it all in.

"And your father's ok with this?" she surprised me by asking.

"He is," I affirmed. "Although I didn't give him a lot of choice. He was worried at first, but Abe spent nearly every day with us while we were in Russia. As he got to see Dimitri and me together he calmed down."

"He was your teacher," Janine hissed.

"Mentor, and not by then." To be honest, I am not sure _what_ Dimitri was by the time we got to Baia. Other than my lover, I mean.

"And he's what, eight years older than you?" she continued, her ire escalating.

"Seven," I sighed. "Mom? _I love him._ And he loves me. He's a good man. He's caring and romantic, and he brings out the best in me. I couldn't have achieved anything I have without him."

"That's not true, Roza," my Russian God's voice intoned as he stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed in cargos, TShirt and looking delicious. I'd been so busy explaining things to Mom, I hadn't heard the shower switch off after only a minute or two. I guess I'd underestimated my man – he was here to face the music with me.

Dimitri walked across to us, sitting on the side of the bed and grasping my hand as I sat in a chair opposite Mom.

"You work hard, and your success is your own."

He turned to look at Mom.

"Guardian Hathaway? Janine? I love your daughter. I know it's unexpected, but that's the way it is. We're together now."

If I thought Dimitri was going to try appeasing I was wrong. He said the words plainly, but he wasn't apologizing for the way we felt. It was as though he was almost daring her to have an issue with it.

"Yet you took advantage of her last night while she was drunk!" Janine hissed, rising to his challenge.

"Mom we didn't have _sex_ ," I groaned, just putting it right out there. "Dimitri wouldn't do that while I was drunk. But Dimitri and I _do_ share a bed, now," I explained. I was trying to let her know that while we didn't do it last night, Dimitri and I were in a physical relationship, and she just needed to deal.

"Since when?" she snapped.

"Since Baia," Dimitri replied calmly, referring to the regular sharing of a bed and conveniently sidestepping the sex part, which is what I think Mom really wanted to know about. "Mama had a room set up for Meredith and Rose to share, but once Rose and I realized how strongly we felt and that we wanted to be together, she started sharing my room with me."

"I don't like it," my mother said forcefully, running her fingers through her hair in a way that was strangely reminiscent of Abe. "So what happens on Monday if you're allocated hundreds of miles away from each other? There's a reason Guardians don't have relationships" she challenged.

"About that… I already know my allocation. Croft approached me after the elimination fights. Dimitri and I are being sent on a five-year allocation to work with the Alchemists. It's hush-hush, but it's a special mission for her Majesty and a follow on from our time at the compound."

Mom's eyebrows almost met her hairline.

"And they're sending you?"

I was a little offended and would have said something biting if I hadn't known it would just set her off.

"Her Majesty promised them her top graduate. It's a position teaching basic combat to their field trainees – she wanted someone young," Dimitri interjected gracefully, recognizing I was about to snap.

"As part of the mission, the Alchemists will be sending two of their own representatives to Court. One is a new graduate, the other a more experienced field-agent. Her Majesty thought she should do likewise, so as the youngest of the Guardians on the original mission, I was selected to accompany Rose."

"And Croft knows about your… connection?!" Mom asked.

"No. We've chosen to keep our relationship private," I explained, squeezing Dimitri's hand in my own and omitting the whole rigmarole of getting Dimitri on the mission with me in the first place. Some things Mom didn't need to know.

"I don't like it," Mom reiterated mulishly. "Belikov's too old for you, and what will happen if Croft finds out?" She was speaking about Dimitri as if he wasn't right there with us. It was humiliating.

"He won't find out if you don't tell him," I snapped in exasperation. "Look. We have to make it through to the allocation ceremony on Monday. Croft suggested we'd be out of here on Tuesday, and then if anyone finds out, we can pretend our relationship developed during the time we were living secluded and alone with the Alchemists," I posited.

"What guarantee do I have he'll do the right thing by you?" Mom demanded, her eyes flicking to my God damned gorgeous man.

"Baba has already spoken with Dimitri at length about the… consequences… if he doesn't treat me well," I said with a giggle, watching Dimitri blanch a little. "I love him, Mom. He loves me. We're going to be together, and I don't want to have to lie about it when we're around you."

My mother was leaning back in her chair listening to my appeals.

"You hurt her, I kick your ass," she growled, channeling her anger toward Dimitri, fixing him with her hazel brown, almost green eyes.

"I'd expect no less, Guardian Hathaway," he readily agreed, bravely bringing my hand to his lips and gently kissing my knuckles. "I'll look after her," he promised.

"Damned straight," Mom said. "Right. Get dressed, Rosemarie. We're going for breakfast. You come too, Belikov, but none of _this!"_ she said waving her hand at where our fingers were intertwined.

* * *

Ten minutes later I was showered, dressed, and downstairs with Dimitri waiting for my mother. The Advil were starting to kick in, and after a bucket of coffee and a plate of doughnuts, I thought I might even feel alive, again.

"You look like shit," Mom said as she joined us in the foyer.

"I've got the hangover from hell, _and_ I'm switching time zones," I grumbled.

The three of us set out to the café near Guardian Headquarters. Situated where it was, with so many Guardians coming on and off shift at weird hours, it did breakfast twenty-four seven. If you were at Court, and you wanted breakfast, that's where you went.

"Ah – here you are!" Abe greeted, standing up in a large booth when we walked in. "I was going to send a search party out for you."

"Ibrahim," Mom replied, managing to make my father's name sound as though he were something unappealing attached to her shoe, "I don't remember inviting you to dine with us."

"Well – family need no invitation," he smugly replied.

"Darling," he said, leaning over to kiss my cheek, "you look lovely."

I snorted. "Mom said I looked like shit."

"Ignore her. She's always cranky before she has her morning cup of tea."

"Shut it," Mom snapped. "A lot has changed in twenty years!"

"But not that I see," he replied facetiously, gesturing for Mom, Dimitri and I to join he and Pavel in the large U-shaped booth.

It was an entertaining meal. Dimitri and I sat on either side of Pavel, Mom next to me, and Abe beside Dimitri. I ate my way through a full cooked breakfast, two cups of coffee and three chocolate-iced doughnuts all while watching my parents verbally spar with one another.

"Hey Pavel," I asked quietly while Mom and Abe were busy trading insults, "you were around back then, weren't you?"

"I was," he replied, understanding I meant back when Abe and my mother first met.

"Were they this bad then?"

He paused, his coffee cup halfway to his lips. He shook his head.

"No. They were way worse. Either age is catching up with them, or they're out of practice."

Dimitri met my eyes and shook his head. It was clear to both of us Janine had needed someone to take her anger out on, so Abe had stepped up to the plate.

"He's a good man your father," Dimitri muttered so only Pavel and I could hear him.

"Don't feel too sorry for him. I think he's enjoying it!" Pavel replied, popping another piece of toast into his mouth and sitting back to watch the bickering continue.


	67. Chapter 67

"So what do you want to do with the rest of the day?" Dimitri asked as we walked back to the Guardian dorms after breakfast.

"Honestly? Lie in a darkened room and contemplate the poor life choices that led to this hangover," I joked. "But I suspect Lissa will want to spend the day with me."

And right on cue, my phone pinged.

 _Let me know when you're up. We need to go shopping for silver for me to charm._

"Lissa wants to go shopping," I groaned.

"You should go," Dimitri said. "Tomorrow is the allocations ceremony, and Tuesday we'll probably be out of here."

"You wanna come with?"

"Shopping with Lissa? Thanks, but I'll give it a miss," he chuckled sympathetically. "I was going to hit the gym and drop by Guardian Headquarters to say hello to a couple of colleagues. Maybe we could do lunch?" he suggested, noticing my disappointed look.

"I'd like that," I said looking up into his eyes.

I was stepping forward and would have kissed him, but was interrupted by Blake coming out of the Guardian dorms, accompanied by Ryan, Shane and Dean.

"Belikov. Rose," Shane greeted. "What's this I hear about you topping St. Basil's _and_ winning their elimination fights?!"

I was surprised. Ryan, Chelsea and the other St. Vlad's graduates were shipped back to Court on the Monday after graduation, so missed the fights.

"Where'd you hear that?" I asked, not giving anything away.

"Saw Eddie upstairs," Ryan said. "They've got all the St. Vlad's grads on the third floor! It's like a party up there!"

"Cool!" I said with a big grin. "Hear that, Belikov? Someone might bring a keg up there later if we're lucky!"

My Russian God rolled his eyes.

"Some of us actually like to sleep," he said with a sigh.

"You and your sleep… Some of us have _other_ things we like to do when the sun is up, Comrade," I teased, obliquely referring to the amorous activities we'd missed out on last night due to my inebriation.

" _I'll_ help you with those activities, Rose!" Shane offered, getting part of my joke.

"Thanks for offer, Reyes, but I'm not sure you could keep up with me…" I paused to take in Dimitri's gritted teeth and the other guys' gleeful expressions. "I mean – I can drink an awful lot…"

"No one should be drinking in the dorms unless they want to hear from Croft," Dimitri growled, put out by Shane's blatant offer.

"Suits me," I said with a laconic grin. "I'm still hungover from yesterday!"

My Russian God had reached the end of his patience.

"I'm going to go to the gym. Do you still have my tape?" he snapped.

"Oh yeah – it's in my gym bag, side pocket. I'm going to see Lissa. Go get it from my room," I said, passing him my key when I appreciated he needed an excuse to go into my room to get to his duffel. "Just leave the key with the dude downstairs."

"Guardians," Dimitri replied, nodding to us all as he took my key and headed into the dorm building.

"I thought once we graduated maybe he'd be less scary, but he isn't. How did you guys live with him for so many months?" Shane asked.

I shrugged.

"He's fine. He kind of grows on you," I laughed, before answering their questions about the elimination fights.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Lissa grumbled when I met her outside a jewelry store at Court. "We've been waiting _ages!"_

I mumbled an apology and looked at Celeste. Behind Lissa's back, she smirked and mouthed 'five minutes.'

Apparently, I wasn't the only one feeling a little worse for wear today!

We walked into the store, the attendants descending on Lissa like vultures.

"We're after a stock of ladies bangles, bracelets and wrist cuffs in silver. Can you please show me everything you stock?" she asked, graciously accepting the seat and glass of sparkling water they offered. The only thing Celeste and I were offered were expressions filled with disdain. I don't think the workers in this store were used to having Guardians inside – particularly one not in uniform. And I also suspected it wasn't the place for thick, chunky silver jewelry.

My suspicions were confirmed when the attendants brought out a range of delicate filigree and gemstone bracelets, almost exclusively in gold.

"It needs to be silver. _Only_ silver," I interjected before they got started on their sales pitches. "And it needs to be thicker than that. It's for a Guardian to wear, so it doesn't have to be fancy, but it does need to be durable."

"For a _Guardian_ to wear?" the most uptight of the sales sycophants asked. He sounded so shocked, you'd think I'd asked for a set of bejeweled nipple-clamps for a Court-wide nudie run.

"Yes that's right," Lissa told the salesman with a sigh. She was hungover, and she thought I was being unnecessarily rude.

"Perhaps try the men's section?" Celeste suggested helpfully.

Receiving Lissa's nod of assent, the salespeople spread out, returning with other offerings, but nothing was suitable. Even the male stuff was on the prissy side, and not designed for someone in a physical line of work.

"You must have something?" Lissa wailed. She was tired and wanted to wrap up shopping as quickly as possible.

"We could commission something if you'd like?" the slimiest salesman offered.

"We haven't got time for that!" Lissa snapped, momentarily losing her regal demeanor.

"Maybe we should try the dhampir part of Court?" Celeste said with a shrug. "They might have more robust things?"

"The _dhampir_ part of Court?! Will you be _safe_ Princess?" slimy gasped aghast.

"She'll be surrounded by _scores_ of Guardians. I doubt there's anywhere safer," I drawled dryly.

"There was no need to be so rude, Rose!" Lissa huffed once we were out on the pavement. "They were just trying to help!"

"What? By staring at Celeste and I like we're farm animals?" I growled. "Slimy's assistant looked like he wanted to frisk me on the way out."

"They're just not used to having dhampir in the shop," Lissa explained as if that in some way excused his behavior.

"Yes, that's right. I forgot – a dhampir's place is out on the sidewalk."

"He didn't say that!" Lissa defended.

"But he thought it. People only act like that to Guardians because charges let them!"

"You're not my Guardian," Lissa pointed out wearily.

"All the more reason for me to be treated with respect," I replied. "If I wasn't there as your paid protection, presumably I was there as your friend. They wouldn't have treated Tasha or Mia like they treated Celeste and me."

"That's different, Rose," Lissa said in exasperation.

"Yeah? Have a good think about it, then explain to me how."

Celeste stepped in, hailing a taxi, diplomatically suggesting I ride beside the driver while she and Lissa sat in the back. In minutes we were in the dhampir shopping area. It wasn't anywhere near as nice as the Moroi shopping district – but at least it looked as though it might have what we were after!

Even here, the deference paid to Moroi was noticeable. Lissa walked straight down the center of the footpath, dhampir and Guardians moving out of her way to let her pass.

We stopped in front of a jewelry store – the only one we could see along the street. Guardians didn't tend to wear a lot of jewelry, so inside there were none of the usual engagement rings and earrings for ladies. Instead, the items leaned to the more practical – decorative stake holders, new silver stakes and the like. But there was a section with wrist cuffs, chains, bracelets, and bangles.

Stepping in before they could fawn all over Lissa, I explained what we were after, and soon enough there was a display of pieces. I tried them on, trialing some combat moves in slow motion with Celeste so I could check my movement was not impeded. Eventually, we narrowed it down to a quite pretty silver wrist cuff and a plain not too manly chain link bracelet. They had three of each in stock, so Lissa purchased them all and placed an order for three more of each.

"You can bring them back, and I'll re-charm them when they're used up. Now let's look around! I've never been in this part of Court before," she suggested now she'd found her second wind.

"Sure thing, Liss," I said with a heavy sigh. Not that I was _that_ put out. I hadn't had a chance to check out the dhampir part of Court yet either.

As would be expected, a lot of the shops focused on practical Guardian needs – but there were other stores as well, including a Russian foods store. My face lit up when I saw it.

"I want to look in here," I said, all but dragging Lissa in behind me. The store was small but packed, and if I closed my eyes, it had the same smell as the general store in Baia. I recognized some of the tins from Olena's pantry, but since I still couldn't read the labels, I didn't know what most of them were.

"I'm so coming back here when I have my first paycheck," I said enthusiastically.

Celeste laughed. "I remember my first pay! I had a list a mile long of things I was going to buy!"

"Yep," I said, smiling at her. "Same! I'm going to splurge on all new workout wear. Everything I have is saggy or torn. I have to wear two sports crop bras, one over the top of the other because they're just not up to the job anymore if you know what I mean!"

I felt a pang through the bond, and with a little digging, I discovered Lissa had been pondering my comments about how dhampir were treated differently. It also hadn't occurred to her I might have things that needed replacing but not the means to do so.

"You should ask your father to get you some new workout stuff," Lissa said abruptly.

"It's ok," I said. "I get paid in two weeks time, and it's something I want to do for myself."

We looked around for another hour, me spotting a few things I thought I could get Dimitri for his birthday. It wasn't until December, but it never hurt to get ideas.

"I'm all shopped out," Lissa eventually declared. "Come back to mine for lunch?"

"I was going to have lunch with Dimitri."

"He can join us," she said carelessly. It didn't occur to her we might have wanted to lunch alone, but Dimitri was right. I should spend the time with Lissa while I could.

"Will Tasha be home?" I checked warily. "And does she know about our new allocations?"

"Yeah I told her, but she's ok," Lissa replied with a sneaky smile. I'd been worried Lissa's compulsion wouldn't hold.

"What do you mean?" I hissed.

"You'll find out," she laughed, lifting an eyebrow suggestively. "Tasha _really_ wants to see you."

It was with misgivings that I texted Dimitri and suggested he join me at the Ozera house for lunch. However, my bad thoughts disappeared when we arrived, and the house smelled great.

"What are you making?" I asked Christian who was busy in the kitchen.

"Meatballs," he replied with a grin. "Tasha suggested it. She thought you might need some home cooking today."

"Hi, Rose!" Tasha said with a grin. "Thanks for bringing these two back safely. Although, I wish you lot had drunk like that at the graduation ball. If you had, I wouldn't be the only one who had to endure a lecture from Tatiana!"

I didn't know what to say, so I settled for a smile.

"Sooooo... I was wondering if we could have a little chat… You know - woman to woman?" she asked nervously.

I tensed. I tried to probe Lissa's mind, but she was blocking me, although she looked amused. I let Tasha lead me over to the sofas out of earshot of the kitchen.

"I was just wondering how well you know your father's Guardians?" she probed.

"Guardians? Yeah, I know some of them quite well."

"Who do you know the best would you say?" she asked with a casualness that was entirely fabricated.

"Hmm. Chaung, Kirk and Pavel, I guess," I replied. I had no idea where she was going with this.

"And Pavel… is he single?" she asked hopefully.

Oh. My. God. I could see it immediately. She'd moved on from Dimitri, alright! Now she was lusting after Pavel!

I quickly stifled a laugh, schooling my face into a neutral expression.

"Hmm, I don't know. He's with Abe pretty much twenty-four seven. I'm not sure it leaves him a lot of time for a relationship."

I couldn't tell if Tasha was pleased or disappointed.

"I've not heard him mention anyone special…" I added helpfully.

Tasha lit up like a Christmas tree.

"And your father's back at Court?" she confirmed. There was no mistaking her excitement now. "Is he staying long this time?"

"He's here for my allocation ceremony," I murmured wondering what Pavel would think about Tasha's sudden interest. "I'm not sure how long he's here for."

"Well. I think I should have him over for dinner to thank him for his generosity to Christian and Lissa in Russia. It was kind of him to put them up and transport them home," she said. "Do you know if he's free tonight?" she schemed.

"I'm not sure, Tasha. I think since it's my last night before my allocation he was planning to dine with me."

"What a good idea! You can all come. Invite your mother too, if you'd like. Why don't you message Abe now and see if he can come?" she suggested.

Lissa was leaning against the kitchen counter covering her mouth with her hand, but her eyes gave away her amusement. When she got an idea in her head, Tasha's single-mindedness was impressive.

A knock at the door heralded the arrival of my man. Freshly showered after his workout, he looked good enough to eat.

"Hey," I said, standing on my tiptoes and brushing my lips across his.

"Hey yourself," he replied, wrapping an arm around me and returning my kiss. "Lissa, Christian. Tasha," he greeted.

"Hey, Dimka! Did you drink as much as these three on the plane?" Tasha teased. She was friendly but not _too_ friendly, and she accepted our affection without a second glance.

"More. I can just hold my alcohol better!" he said sinking onto the sofa and pulling me down beside him.

"So – tell me all about your new allocation," she said to both of us.

"Not much to tell," Dimitri replied. "All we know is it's with the Alchemists and in New Hampshire."

"Teaching combat, right?"

"That's the plan," I smiled.

"You two would be perfect for that," she commented. "I've never seen Guardians move the way you two do together."

Tasha hadn't seen us spar since Christmas time. Months of training together meant we were even more in sync now.

"So Dimitri…" Tasha said in a slightly cloying voice that immediately set him on edge and made me nervous. "I was just asking Rose if she knew much about her father's Guardian Pavel…"

* * *

Ryan had been right about the third floor being like a party. When we returned late in the afternoon, all the doors were open and graduated but not yet allocated Guardians were wandering up and down the halls, talking about possible allocations, drinking, sharing takeout and generally getting up to mischief with their former classmates. A few, like Dimitri and I, had plans to go out to visit family or friends, but the majority of those accommodated there were settling in for a long night of drinking.

"Makes me glad to be going out," Dimitri muttered under his breath as he met me at my dorm door to escort me downstairs to go to dinner. There were just too many people around to risk Dimitri staying in my room, so he'd reluctantly moved his bags to his own room earlier in the day and had gotten ready there.

"Come on beautiful girl, let's go," he whispered giving me a panty-dropping smile. Oh God, I hoped my former classmates would drink themselves into oblivion by the time we returned so I could sneak Dimitri into my room for the night. I was so turned on it wasn't funny – and seeing my Russian God in dark jeans and a tight black button down _wasn't_ helping!

"I don't see why I have to be there," Janine grumbled as we met her in the foyer of the Guardian dorms.

"Because Tasha wants to thank Abe for his generosity to Christian and Lissa in Russia, and since it's my last night before allocations I thought it would be nice for us to spend it together," I explained, not for the first time.

"We could eat somewhere without Abe," my mother suggested with her usual Scottish feistiness.

"Or you could show off how good you look in a skirt and a pair of heels," I smirked. She'd argue otherwise, but Mom had gone to a lot of effort to look her best.

Dimitri and I couldn't decide whether she or Abe had won their breakfast skirmish. But Pavel had been right about one thing – Abe had enjoyed it, and on some level, I think Mom had too. So while she was complaining about coming to Tasha's with us tonight, it wasn't with any real conviction.

"Ladies?" Dimitri suggested, gesturing us forward to the waiting taxi. We could have walked to the Ozera's house, but Mom and I were both wearing heels.

The sun was just coming up as we stepped out of the cab a few minutes later.

"That's one thing I'm going to love," I commented to Dimitri and Mom. "Being back on a daytime schedule."

"Yes. But aren't you two concerned about living in the human world? For five years?" Mom asked.

"I grew up in a human/dhampir township, so it's not unfamiliar to me, Janine."

I shrugged. "I've done it before. Lissa and I lived with humans for two years. It was fun."

Mom gave me an odd look, and I thought she about to launch into another tirade about how irresponsible I'd been going on the run with Lissa. But she didn't.

"Maybe you two _are_ the right ones to send on this mission," she said lightly, putting her arm around me tentatively.

"We are if they send us together," I assured her.

"Come on – let's get this over with."

Once we were inside, Mom was a lot more gracious. Tasha was effusive in her compliments, and her friendly, chatty nature soon put Mom at ease. We'd only been there a few minutes when Abe arrived, accompanied, as always, by Pavel.

"Abe," Tasha greeted pleasantly, accepting his gift of flowers and wine.

"Nice to see you, Natasha. Thank you so much for inviting us. I always enjoy a home cooked meal."

"Thank you for coming," she said with a smile, but she wasn't giving Abe her full attention. Her eyes were flicking behind him to where Pavel stood, looking slightly bored.

"And Guardian Pavel," Tasha simpered, slipping past Abe to smile up at Pavel through her lashes, standing uncomfortably close before playfully touching his chest. "I'm so glad you could make it. I haven't had a chance to thank you for helping me the other night when I'd had a little too much to drink…"

Pavel nodded and mumbled something about all part of the job.

"You say that, but you were so marvelous. The way you picked me up and helped me back to my room, as though I weighed _nothing at all._ It was so… manly!" she said in breathy voice, her eyelashes fluttering.

It was just starting to get weird when Christian came out of the kitchen, took the flowers and wine from Tasha and suggested everyone move through to the dining room and take their seats at the table for dinner.

"Dimka and Rose, you're up that end, Abe you're next to Rose. Christian and Lissa there, Janine there, Emil here and Pavel? You can sit here. Right next to me!"

When it wasn't my man Tasha had her sights set on, it was entertaining to watch. Tasha was laying it on thick, yet the only person in the room not to appreciate what was going on was Pavel himself.


	68. Chapter 68

Dinner had been hysterical. It was around the time Tasha 'accidently' dropped some of her food onto Pavel's lap, and started to dab at his crotch with her napkin, that he realized that although Tasha had provided dinner, she was hoping he'd be dessert. The look of consternation on the usually unflappable guy's face was amusing, as was the way Abe covertly teased him.

"I can't believe your father," Dimitri chuckled. "Did you see Pavel's face when Abe suggested he might stay at Court for a year, and how that would give Pavel _'lots of free time?'_ "

"I thought Pavel was going to up and run for the hills then," I giggled. "Tasha really doesn't know when to back off, does she?"

"She's always been pretty full on," Dimitri admitted.

It was 10 am, and we were walking companionably back to Guardian dorms. I was carrying my heels in my hand, walking barefoot along the pavement with my Russian God. Since it was just the two of us, I didn't mind the walk.

Mom had eventually extricated Pavel from an increasingly awkward situation by suggesting she and Abe have a quiet drink at a nearby bar. Pavel, of course, was required to attend Abe, so had managed to escape the Ozera house relatively unscathed. The three of them had climbed into a taxi, Pavel thanking Janine repeatedly the whole time.

"Lissa was quiet tonight," Dimitri observed.

"I told her off a bit today."

I explained about the shopping and the difference between how we were treated.

"It's always been that way, ангел."

"Only because people let it be," I argued. "Lissa could have asked us whether we were thirsty, too."

"She probably didn't think of it," he commented.

"I know. But she should have. If they'd offered only me a glass of water, I'd have asked Celeste and Lissa if they wanted one, too."

"I know you would," he replied stopping and turning to face me. "It's one of the things I love about you – the way you always think about others."

" _One_ of the things?" I said looking up at him with a flirty little smile.

"There are others," he said wiggling his eyebrows mischievously.

We went back to walking. I would like to have held his hand, but there were enough people out and about that it wasn't prudent.

"I want to kiss you," I groaned. "Want to sneak into my room and spend the night, Comrade?"

Dimitri's eyes met mine, and they were filled with want and desire.

"Uh ha," he affirmed, and unconsciously we both started walking a bit faster.

By some miracle, when we got to the third floor of the Guardian dorms, everyone was down the far end of the corridor crowded into someone's room. The chants of 'chug chug chug chug' gave me a fair idea of what was going on, but it also gave me a chance to open my dorm room door, shove Dimitri inside before shutting and locking the door behind us.

"Alone at last," I murmured as Dimitri wasted no time, pushing me up against the back of the door.

"I…" kiss, kiss, kiss. "Have wanted…" kiss, nip, hiss. "To do…" groan, kiss, lick. "This to you…" sigh, gasp, nuzzle. "All… fucking… day!" Dimitri groaned. His sensual assault up my neck ended at my ear, and he sucked the lobe it into his hot, greedy mouth, nipping it sensually.

Dimitri's swearing, combined with his breath in my ear then the shock of his bite, sent ripples down my spine to the wet, wanting place between my thighs. My panties were already damp with desire - they'd be absolutely sodden after this!

"All through dinner I kept imagining you on your back," he whispered into my ear, pushing his hips against me. "Me between your thighs, my cock deep in you."

"God yes!" I mewled, eyes closed and fantasizing about just that. It had only been a few days, but it felt like months since he'd claimed me.

He grabbed my hand, pulling away from me slightly and placing it on his covered hardness.

" _This_ is what you do to me," he hissed. "Just _thinking_ about you makes me rock hard."

I stroked him confidently, paying particular attention to the head of his cock where I could feel it pressed against his jeans.

He closed his eyes, and let his head loll back, breathing heavily through his mouth.

"That feels good, doesn't it?" I asked him breathily.

"So good," he confirmed, pushing his hand against mine, forcing it even harder against him. "So, so good!"

I spun us around, moving him until he was the one with his back against the door. Then without warning, I dropped to my knees in front of him, quickly pulling my dress over my head and removing my bra, so I was kneeling in front of him in nothing but a saturated pair of panties. I popped the button of his jeans and carefully unzippered his fly, pulling his pants down around his ankles.

"Briefs again?" I asked, mouthing him through the cotton. There was a large wet spot where his tip was already weeping precum, so I focused my attention there, my tongue rasping against the stretch cotton. The smell was intoxicating; washing powder, the faint fragrance of Dimitri's aftershave and the sweet scent of his precum. Of course, the taste was even better.

"I knew I was going to be turned on," he groaned in explanation, his eyes open again and looking down at where I was sucking his tip through his jocks.

"Do you want me to take you in my mouth, Comrade?" I tempted, giving him a challenging look with my eyes as my mouth went back to working his package.

"Please…" he begged, his eyes looking almost pained.

I giggled, tugging at the waistband of his jocks, sliding them down his hard, muscled thighs, raking my fingernails tantalizingly against his flesh. Pushing his briefs all the way down to his ankles, I slowly reversed the process – tauntingly dragging my nails up his calves and then inner thighs. His thick, hard cock was bobbing in front of my lips, and while Dimitri gripped the doorframe with each hand, steadying himself as his legs were shaking slightly, I leaned forward and licked the tip where it was peeking out from his foreskin, tickling it with my tongue.

"Oh _hell_ Roza," he gasped sounding absolutely desperate.

"Uh ha," I murmured, wrapping my hand around his shaft. "Is this what you need?"

"Yes!"

"Yes, _what?!"_ I demanded, removing my hand.

I looked up at my poor confused man. He was _so_ excited, but he had no idea where I was going with this.

"Yes, Roza?"

"Nah ah," I said shaking my head with a playful pout.

"Yes, ангел?"

"Nope," I said, taking a fingertip and running it down from his navel, along his happy trail to the tight dark curls beneath, stopping at the base of his shaft.

My darling man looked perplexed.

"Yes, _Guardian Hathaway,"_ I prompted.

He nodded.

"Say it!" I demanded.

"I need this, Guardian Hathaway!" Dimitri groaned, looking at me in surprise and maybe a little awe.

"Why didn't you say so, Comrade?" I giggled facetiously, wrapping my hand back around him and guiding his cock into my mouth.

He groaned as I exposed the sensitive head, tickling the ridge with my tongue, sucking while I worked his shaft with my hand.

"That's it," he encouraged, dropping one of his hands onto the back of my head to toy with my hair.

"Nah ah," I said, immediately removing my hand and my mouth. "Keep your hands to yourself, Comrade…"

"Can I play with your hair? _Please?"_

I tilted my head to one side, pretending to consider his request. I looped a long tendril of hair around my finger, passing it to his left hand.

"This one, and _only_ this one…"

"Thank you," he panted, taking it reverently between his thumb and forefinger.

"Thank you…?"

"Thank you, Guardian Hathaway!" he immediately corrected, a grin on his face as he saw my acknowledging nod before I ran my cheek along the side of his dick, taking it within my lips once again.

I could feel him rubbing my strands between his fingers as I stroked him, sucking the head of his cock. Slowly, ever so slowly, I took more of him into my mouth – gently pulling back his foreskin and sliding him over my tongue until I felt his tip nudge the back of my throat. I didn't mind taking him deep. Actually, scratch that – I _loved_ it! But it had to be on my terms – which was the reason my man was presently gripping the timber doorframe with one hand as if his life depended on it, his other hand fingering a long, dark lock of my hair.

I slid up and down, my saliva providing the wetness I knew he liked. Every time my lips pulled up toward his sensitive head and slit, I added a nice hard pressure with my hand, using it on the up and downward stroke but dropping it away as I deep throated him again and again.

My other hand, unoccupied, slid to fondle his balls. The soft pants and gasps as I stroked his sack and trace told me how much he was enjoying my touch. He was usually more vocal when I gave him oral, but we were trying to be quiet; outside I could hear people walking back and forth along the corridor, calling out to one another, laughing and carousing. And if we could hear them, that meant if we were too vocal, they'd be able to hear us.

Slowly working my way up and down my man, I dropped my hand from his nuts, letting it trail over my chin, neck and to my décolletage. Giving my Russian God a careful look to make sure he was watching, I started caressing one of my breasts – working him with one hand, my nipple with the other – the whole time my dark eyes meeting his.

My hand meandered back and forth between my distended nubs. Releasing his cock from my mouth for a moment and pumping it, I used the immediately forthcoming moistness from his tip to lubricate my fingers before I returned them to my tits and my mouth to pleasure him.

Looking down at me with libidinous eyes, I felt Dimitri's cock twitch between my lips – my man liked my little show, although it wasn't doing much for my underwear, as I was now absolutely teeming with desire. Every pinch and tweak at my breasts sending bursts of bliss down to my lady garden, my puffy pink petals preparing themselves for some action.

Bringing my mind back to Dimitri, and the job at hand, I focused more on the head, pulling my lips almost all the way to the end of his length, then rolling my tongue around the ridge, stopping to tickle the little piece of skin on the underside of his cock. He couldn't help himself from bucking his hips. My poor man needed this, and he was so close, now.

I pushed him resolutely to lean back against the door again before wrapping my hand around his penis. His soft pants getting faster, I knew we were in the home stretch. I was taking him deep, sucking hard and stroking firmly. But I couldn't help it – I needed relief, too. I was so turned on I just couldn't take it anymore, so I dropped my other hand into my panties to give myself some attention. I moaned when I found my tight bundle of nerves in the slickness of my slit. Rubbing in sync with the tempo with which I was sucking Dimitri, I could feel myself immediately respond, and suddenly we were racing to the finish, and it was a matter of which of us would cum first.

"So close," he panted, and I sped up slightly, gripping his shaft even tighter. I was so close, too!

"I'm not sure if she's back yet," I heard a voice comment almost right outside our door. Female, so probably Chelsea. "She said she was going to dinner at Lissa's tonight."

I didn't stop. In fact, I didn't even slow down as there was a knock on the other side of the door Dimitri was leaning against.

My Russian God's eyes were nearly bugging out of his head, but it didn't have any effect on what was happening below his waist. Right now, his dick had a mind of its own – and coitus interruptus _wasn't_ on the agenda.

"Rose? You back yet?" Chelsea called through the door.

I was still circling my clit with my fingertips, my face buried in my lover's crotch when I saw Dimitri's balls bunch up the way they did just before he blew. Taking him in as far as I could, and sucking hard, I watched as Dimitri closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, leaning his head back against the door. And then he was spurting hot, salty cum into the back of my throat, his usual moans of release trapped between gritted teeth.

Using my fingers to penetrate myself, I gave myself the friction I so desperately needed, and as Dimitri was cumming in my mouth, my slick folds were clamping onto my fingers in one of the most potent climaxes I'd had for a while. It couldn't have been long, but it seemed like hours as I came and came.

Dimitri's peak finished, I let his manhood slip from my lips and swallowed his seed, resting my forehead on his upper thigh as I teased my clit, riding out the tide of erotic euphoria.

"I don't think she's back," a slightly slurred male voice I recognized as Ryan's announced. "Come on – let's get back before Blake drinks everything!"

The two of us stayed silent as footsteps receded down the corridor. Finally, Dimitri dropped my hair from his hand, offering his grip to me to help me up.

"Guardian Hathaway, that was very sexy," he whispered in reverence.

"Glad you liked," I smiled, standing on tiptoes and pulling his mouth down to mine. I attacked his lips passionately, inviting his tongue to join with mine.

Our lips joined, Dimitri's hands on my hips, he started walking me back to the bed. When he reached the side, he pushed me back playfully, looking at me lying down and staring at him provocatively.

"I don't think you're going to need these…" he said, reaching down and pulling my panties off me.

"Hmm," he moaned as he brought the damp cotton and lace up to his lips and nose, inhaling deeply. "Mine!" he said possessively, and I wasn't sure whether he was talking about me or my underwear. Either way, I was good with it!

He pulled his shirt over his head and pushed his jeans and jocks off his feet until he was standing naked before me. I opened my legs, giving him space to crawl onto the bed and on top of me. Pushing a knee hard up against my core, Dimitri rested his forearms on either side of my head to take his weight while we kissed. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling the hair tie out of his hair. While I liked his hair tied back, for some reason I preferred it out when we were lovemaking.

He'd only cum a few minutes before, but he was already hard and ready to take me. From the change-room gossip I'd heard, it was just one of the many advantages of having a Dhampir lover. Not that I was complaining!

Holding his hard length in his fist, Dimitri lined himself up with my opening, pushing his way into my tight channel. I exhaled loudly, relishing the fullness I'd missed. He started to thrust, giving us both what we needed, but it quickly became obvious this wasn't going to work. The bed frame was old, and every time Dimitri moved, the bedsprings squeaked in objection. And it was _loud._ There was no way anyone hearing those noises would remain ignorant about what was going on behind my closed dorm room door.

"Fuck," Dimitri growled in frustration. The blowjob had been a nice warm up, but we were both ravenous for the main event, and neither of us was willing to settle for something slow, soft and wishy washy. He pulled out of me, looking in exasperation around the room. There was no way I was doing it on the floor, and Guardian rooms were so devoid of furniture it didn't leave many other options.

"Chair," I ordered, pushing him off me.

The only other furniture in the room were two ubiquitous vinyl padded metal office chairs. What they lacked in looks they made up for in sturdiness. These weren't going to break or give tell-tale squeaks.

Sitting on one, Dimitri patted his lap invitingly.

"Guardian Hathaway?"

"Comrade," I smiled, standing with one leg on either side of his thighs. He positioned himself again and I slowly sunk onto his thick hard length. I hissed in appreciation – it was deeper this way – and it also put me in control.

Dimitri's hands dropped to my hips, gently supporting me as I started rocking back and forth, finding an angle and speed I liked. One of Dimitri's hands snaked up my back to my hair, but I loved the feeling of being enclosed in his arms, so I let it go without complaint.

I was whimpering quietly into the crook of Dimitri's neck as the pleasure in me started to rise. Even though I'd already had a release, my body was inexorably building up to another.

Despite our efforts to stay silent, we couldn't help the wet noises from where we joined, my skin slapping against his as I found physical gratification with his manhood. It wasn't enough to be heard outside the room, but it was still sexy.

Letting me lean back into the support of his arm, Dimitri lowered his lips to one of my nipples, worrying at the nub with his lips and tongue before roughly sucking it into his warm mouth. He nipped at it sharply, causing me to gasp and draw a ragged breath of surprise. Soothing the momentary sting with his tongue, he abandoned that breast to devote equal attention to its twin, mimicking the lick, suck, nip and suckle.

"Kiss me," I hissed, wanting his lips back on mine.

My Comrade obliged with a smirk, his lips meeting mine before he moved his hand from my hip to my clit, rubbing the swollen, needy nub through its hood. With my hips angled so his manhood thrust directly into my sweet spot with every roll of my hips, the skilled ministrations of Dimitri's fingertips were leading me closer and closer to complete jouissance.

"That's it," he cooed, recognizing my need as my motion got rough and sloppy as I got nearer the brink of abandon. "Give it up for me, ангел…"

As tempting as it was to hold on, I couldn't. Flopping forward toward my man, I let him grasp me in his tight embrace as I detonated, my pussy compressing rhythmically around him. So far gone, I could barely support myself, let alone move, I felt him rock beneath me a couple of times before his body tensed and he, too, came apart.

Leaning against each other, bodies covered in sweat, eyes closed and breath ragged, we grasped each other as the inevitable result of our union played out.

"Come to bed," I finally said, once I was capable of talking again.

"We should shower," Dimitri said with a sigh.

"I'm too tired to move that far," I confessed. It wasn't that late. 11 am maybe? But it had been a long day, and I wanted to sleep. It wouldn't be the first time I'd fallen asleep covered in sweat from lovemaking, my man's cum still inside me. And hopefully, it wouldn't be the last.

Not waiting for me to stand up and take the steps to the bed, Dimitri picked me up and carried me across to the mattress. Lowering me carefully down he climbed in beside me, pulling me close, so my head was resting on his arm, his other wrapped protectively around me.

"Allocations, tomorrow," he whispered as I nuzzled against him ready to fall asleep. "Then our whole new life starts, Roza."

"I can't wait," I murmured. And then I was asleep.

* * *

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	69. Chapter 69

"What?" I grumbled, opening my eyes and seeing my Russian God staring at me and almost crying with laughter.

"Nothing," he murmured, his eyes still twinkling with amusement as he scooted over next to me on the bed.

"What is it?" I asked again as a naked Dimitri leaned across to me and started kissing my neck.

"You were just sleep talking. You must have been dreaming. You kept talking about…"

"Giraffe Strigoi…" I butted in. "It was a weird dream, and they were scary as hell!"

The corners of Dimitri's mouth turned up as he tried to suppress a smile.

"You kept saying 'Go for the neck and legs – they're weaker there!'"

I knew he was making fun of me, and in truth, I could see it was pretty funny.

"Makes perfect sense to me," I said with an attempt at frostiness.

"That it does," he agreed with mock seriousness. "If we are ever invaded by a heard of Strigoi Giraffe, I'll remember your words of wisdom."

"Ass," I muttered under my breath.

"What about my ass?" he teased playfully.

"Nothing – it's a damn fine ass, Guardian Belikov. Why don't you bring it closer to me?!"

We cuddled in bed for an hour, and then it was time for Dimitri to get up and sneak back to his dorm room.

I opened the door and carefully checked the corridor. All was quiet, so with a final kiss I motioned Dimitri out into the hallway, and he tiptoed silently down the hall, letting himself into his room.

"I love you," he mouthed to me as he stepped into his room. I blew him a kiss and then shut my door, flopping back onto the bed and cuddling the pillow that still held the faint scent of my Russian God. It was another hour or so before I needed to get up, so I lay there thinking about how things were about to change again.

First leaving the academy, then leaving the country and now leaving everyone I knew and loved behind, except Dimitri.

I wasn't frightened – I knew I'd be ok as long as Dimitri and I were together – but I guess it finally started to dawn on me what a big deal it would be living not quite in the human world but as the only two Dhampir in a settlement of Alchemists. It didn't help that I knew next to nothing about where we'd be living. I pulled out the St. Vlad's laptop that I really must figure out how to return to them and fired it up, checking my email and then typing New Hampshire into Google.

The pictures looked beautiful, and I could see it bordered Canada on its northern border. There'd been mention of a car, so maybe Dimitri and I could spend a weekend in Quebec? The temperatures looked similar to Montana, so I guess I wouldn't be escaping the snow in Winter. On the plus side if we were near one of the lakes that would mean ice-skating!

Thinking about ice-skating made me think about Lissa. We'd loved to skate at the Academy, and at her home at Christmas before her family passed away. Unless our visit to Court lined up, I don't suppose I'd be seeing her for Christmas this year. The thought of that made me sad. She was my best friend, and instead of guarding her like we always thought I would, we'd be apart for the next few years. While a small voice in the back of my head insisted maybe that was a good thing for both of us, my heart was hurting at the idea. And I couldn't help but get a little teary.

Lissa being on my mind, I decided to check in on her. She was awake and sitting in bed with Christian. She too was crying.

"She won't be awake, yet," a sleepy Christian was arguing. "Go back to sleep - you can see her later when she's up."

"But it's her last day here! I can't even go to the allocations ceremony as it's Guardians only," Lissa wailed. "And I was so rude to her and Celeste yesterday when we were shopping."

I pulled myself out of her head and picked up my phone.

 _Want to spend the morning together before the allocation ceremony? I'm awake now – we could do breakfast?_

I pressed send and climbed out of bed, wiping my slightly damp eyes. My phone pinged almost immediately. In a series of quick messages, we arranged to meet at the breakfast place I went to with Mom, Abe, and Dimitri. I was pretty hungry – all the sexing with Dimitri last night had worked up an appetite! Speaking of my Comrade, I'd better let him know where I was going. We hadn't arranged to breakfast together, but I should let him know I was meeting Lissa.

 _Off to breakfast with Lissa. I'll be back by 11 to get ready for the allocations._

As with Lissa, I got a reply almost immediately.

 _Did you want me to come to breakfast with you?_

I took a moment thinking how to phrase it, so he wasn't offended. In the end, I went with the truth.

 _No. I need a bit of time alone with Lissa to say goodbye for now._

I pressed send and jumped into the shower, quickly hosing off any remnants of last night's deliciously sinful activities. Stepping out of the shower, I let my damp hair hang loose. Once I was allocated, I'd no doubt have to wear it up more often, so I might as well make the most of leaving it out while I could. I should cut it, I mused, fingering the dark locks in contemplation. But Dimitri loved it so much – I don't suppose it mattered if it was long, provided I could secure it.

Slipping into jeans and a tight top, then putting on my combat boots, I picked up my phone and read Dimitri's response.

 _I understand. Take all the time you need. I love you._

I smiled and slipped the phone into my pocket. I was a lucky woman!

* * *

I'd already ordered when Lissa and Celeste arrived. Emil and Celeste did the twelve hours on, twelve hours off Guardian shifts typical with a higher profile charge. Celeste basically covered the vampire 'morning' and 'day' and switched with Emil who covered dinner and while Lissa slept. It worked for them. In her mid-twenties, Celeste was closer to Lissa's age and a lot more chatty than Emil, who was in his early forties and naturally taciturn.

I stuck my hand up and waved, attracting their attention. Even at 7 pm, the place was already pretty full. I was in a small four-person booth, and Celeste gestured Lissa in first opposite me before taking the outer seat, as per protocol. A Dhampir server came over and passed Lissa a menu, ignoring Celeste as she was in uniform and obviously guarding.

"Celeste? Have you had breakfast this morning?" Lissa asked, gesturing for our server to wait as she took her menu.

"No, Princess. I'll eat later on. I shouldn't be eating on duty."

"Remember it's Lissa, now. And if you're hungry, by all means, eat. I'm perfectly well protected in here, and I don't like the idea of you working on an empty stomach."

Celeste looked around and shrugged. Lissa had a point. There were probably twenty or thirty Guardians in here.

"Sure. Might as well get in practice for Lehigh, right? I'll start with a large black coffee," she said to the Dhampir server, taking the menu she offered.

Celeste was looking over the menu so didn't notice when I lifted my eyebrows at Lissa.

 _I was thinking about what you said yesterday. You're right - I need to be more conscious of my Guardian's needs, and it's also my responsibility to make sure other people treat them well_ she said through the bond.

"Love you, Liss," I told her, seemingly out of the blue, giving her an approving smile. "So get ready for Lehigh – does that mean you're off to uni, Celeste?"

"Apparently so! I got an email last night telling me I've been allocated as Lissa's primary Guardian," she said jubilantly.

I smiled, and I was happy for Celeste, but it was bittersweet.

"Oh shoot – I'm so insensitive! I'm sorry – I know that's the position you wanted," Celeste said her face flushing as she realized what she'd said.

"It's ok, Celeste. If it can't be Dimitri or me, I can't think of anyone I'd trust more to look after Lissa than you."

"Thanks, Rose. That really means a lot," Celeste replied, giving me a grin. "Anyway, there's apparently going to be four of us - me and another for Lissa, and two for Christian."

"Any idea on the other Guardians?" I asked she and Lissa.

Liss shook her head.

"Hopefully Eddie for Christian since they requested the allocation together. Not sure on the others. I kind have thought Meredith might be interested, but she never said anything…"

"You could have said something to her?" I replied.

"True," Lissa admitted. "I suppose we'll find out this afternoon."

In one of the only fair aspects of allocations, Moroi who were allocated a graduate Guardian received a text message during the allocations ceremony with the pertinent details. Since it was Guardians only at the ceremony, it was the easiest and quickest way to disseminate information in a timely and accurate fashion. Guardians received a packet of information at the ceremony with all the details they needed about their charge and the allocation.

"When will you and Dimitri get the details of your allocation?" Celeste asked curiously after ordering two tall stacks with bacon. "I don't suppose you'll be getting the usual white envelope?"

"Croft said to come see him after the ceremony, and he'd give us details then."

"Are you worried?" Lissa asked. Lissa's knowledge about Alchemists was pretty sketchy and formed from the little we'd told her.

"A bit," I finally admitted. "I haven't had time to be worried before now."

My bond mate and best friend smiled.

"I'm sure it will be fine. And it's not forever. Five years will fly in no time!"

Our order arrived, and we dug in. Even Lissa had an appetite this morning, which was unusual for her. After we'd finished, Celeste and I eating enough for three or four normal people, it was time for conversation again.

"Do you have to wear your uniform for the ceremony?" Lissa asked me.

"Ah ha."

"I still don't know why Moroi can't come," she commented testily.

"It's less of a ceremony and more of a 'have your name called out and get given your parcel of info' sort of thing," Celeste explained. "The only speeches are going over some of the admin stuff like when your paycheck arrives and your benefits and all that sort of thing. They also announce your starting pay level. Almost everyone there will be on the same pay rate, but some will be a bit higher if they are in more danger or doing extended duties or if they're in a position where they're expected to buy food and cook for themselves and that sort of thing."

"So everyone's going to know what you're earning?" Lissa asked in shock.

"Don't stress it, Liss," I laughed. "All the other Guardians already know what I'll be earning," I said, setting up the joke.

"Yeah," Celeste agreed seeing the twinkle in my eye, _"Not very much!"_ we said together, and lifting her hand, I gave her a high five. It was a common Guardian joke.

Lissa and I had never discussed a Guardian's pay or conditions. We'd never needed to. It was all handled through Court via Guardian Headquarters, so much like I didn't really understand the complicated Moroi taxation and tithing rules, she didn't get the system for the pay and promotion of Guardians.

Through the bond, she asked me what sort of pay a graduate Guardian could expect. It wasn't the sort of thing you were meant to discuss with a charge, but since I was talking to my friend and not a charge, I took a sip of my coffee before mentioning a figure.

Lissa was surprised, but she thought about the expenses of food and board, medical and all the other benefits Guardians received and decided while the pay was bad it wasn't scandalous.

"That's a _month_ Liss – not a week," I quickly clarified.

"Oh," Lissa said, her hand covering her mouth in surprise. "I had no idea! That's not very much." She didn't know what more to say. If Celeste hadn't been there, we would have talked about it, but I knew Lissa was embarrassed now she knew how poorly Celeste and her other Guardians were remunerated for the long hours and all the risks they took guarding her.

"Yep. No one becomes a Guardian for the money. But I do like the looks I get when I'm in uniform" Celeste said lightly, defusing the tension a little.

"Do men stare a lot?" Lissa asked innocently.

Celeste and I both laughed.

"Do they just!" I said. "I've only worn my uniform a few times, Liss, and you wouldn't believe how much more men stare. I find it creepy."

"I don't mind it," Celeste grinned. "There's a _lot_ of men who like a woman in uniform!"

* * *

"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!" I said to Meredith as she followed me into my dorm room. It was 10.45 pm, and I was getting ready for the allocation ceremony. "Lissa's a bit freaked out about us being apart, so I've been trying to spend time with her before I go."

I casually didn't mention the part about me also being worried about being so far away from my best friend.

"It's ok. I've been busy myself," Meredith said with a pretty blush.

"Eddie?" I asked shrewdly.

"Yes," she sighed, throwing herself onto my bed. "It was never meant to turn into anything, but I really like him."

"And how does _he_ feel?" I asked.

"That's it! I have _no_ idea," she wailed.

"Have you tried asking him about it?" I gently teased.

"I've tried, but we end up… otherwise occupied."

"Doing the horizontal mumba? Assult with a friendly weapon? Peeling the skin off the banana?!"

"Rose!" Meredith laughed in embarrassment. "And not that last one. Eddie's circumcised!"

"Is way more than I ever wanted to know!" I growled, throwing up my hands in surrender and grimacing.

"I don't know what he wants from me," she explained.

"Oh, I've got a fair idea," I kidded.

"Yeah ok. I mean I don't know if he wants anything _more_ than that from me."

"Why don't you wait 'til allocations are announced and then ask him? Don't stress yourself out until you know if more is even going to be possible," I counseled, hoping now, more than ever, that Meredith would be allocated to Lissa. After me, she was the year's top female graduate, and Lissa was a high profile female charge, so there was a good chance, but you just never knew with these things.

"Want me to braid your hair?" I checked, trying to change the subject.

"Sure. Want me to do yours?"

"Yeah alright. I'll put it up in the bun holder, but it stays in longer if it's braided first."

Meredith sat down, and I quickly brushed and put her hair into a braid. Her hair was shorter than mine, but still long enough it should be put up. Besides which, this was the sort of event where it paid to show off one's molnija.

"Oh… I didn't think you'd have company," I heard from the doorway. Since I was already dressed, I'd left the door open.

"Hi Mom," I said turning to face her and give an encouraging smile. "Meredith and I were just braiding each other's hair. I can do it myself, but it's always neater when someone else does it."

"Yes. That's why I ended up cutting mine," Mom said easily. "Anyway, I'll leave you girls to it."

I could hear the disappointment in her voice.

"Don't be silly, Mom. Take a seat. We'd appreciate the company."

Mom nodded and sat in the other chair. _The_ chair now I thought about it! Not that I wanted to think about my mother sitting in the chair I used to get it on with my man last night!

"You should both wear your Queen's Badges," Mom counseled. "They're rare as hens' teeth, and it's unheard for ones as young as you both to have one."

I nodded. It hadn't occurred to me, but Mom was right.

"Switch – I'll do your hair now," Meredith said.

I exchanged places, and within minutes, Meredith had my long hair braided and helped me secure it into the bun-holder Dimitri had given me for my eighteenth.

"You both look lovely," Mum complimented, giving us the once over.

"Thanks, Guardian Hathaway," Meredith said, smiling at her. "Thanks, Rose. I'm going to finish getting ready in my room."

It wasn't a particularly subtle exit, but it was clear Mom wanted to talk. Seeing Meredith to the door, I closed it behind her.

"What's up, Mom?"

"I just wanted to spend some time before you leave," she said, looking a little sad. "I know how crazy this life gets. It could be months before I see you again."

"I know. But we'll be back at court every month, so hopefully we can meet up if Lord Szelsky is in town?"

"Aye. And perhaps I could come for a weekend nearby some time? I have a cousin in Vermont."

"In Montpelier?" I asked, bring my chair closer to her before flopping down on it.

"Yes?" Mom replied, her tone asking me what I knew.

"I recently got a copy of my birth certificate," I explained.

"That's where you were born," Mom confirmed with a nod. "I have a Dhampir cousin who was the mistress of a wealthy Moroi. When I found myself pregnant with nowhere to go, she took me in. We stayed in a cottage on their property until you were old enough to go to the Academy."

"I can't remember any of that," I said.

"You were just a wee thing," Mom said with a shrug, although she did look disappointed. "He passed away some years ago, but my cousin and the Moroi wife still live there together."

"Isn't that strange?" I queried, raising my eyebrows. Mom shrugged.

"Bridget and Elaine always knew about each other. The three of them made the move from Scotland to Vermont together, and they lived as a family group. Bridget was a second mother to my cousin Elaine's children. Bridget and Campbell never had Moroi children of their own. He was older, and when he passed away a few years back, neither of them saw the need to move or change their living arrangements."

"Do you have many cousins?" I asked tentatively.

"Aye – a few. Most of them are a lot older. Perhaps you could visit Elaine with me sometime, and we can tell you about them? She knows more about the family history."

"I'd really like that," I said, knowing when not to push. This was the most forthcoming my mother had ever been about her family history and mine. I didn't want to spook her now she was finally divulging things.

"It was nice of you to save Pavel last night," I commented as I found my Queen's Badge and carefully pinned it to my uniform lapel.

"Yes. Tasha Ozera doesn't seem to know when enough is enough," Mom said with a smirk. "Pavel has always been kind to me – it was a small thing to rescue him."

"Still – I hope having a drink with Abe wasn't too much?" I probed.

"Oh you know your father," Mom said evasively, "he's charm itself when he wants to be."

I looked at my mother carefully, and she just might have been blushing. Right. I was going to leave that _well_ alone!

"Rose? You know I'm proud of you, don't you?" she suddenly blurted out. "I love you very much, and I'm proud of all you've achieved."

I nodded, suddenly feeling like I was four years old again. I wanted my Mom, and her approval meant everything.

"I do… but it's nice to hear it," I said in a small voice, leaning forward and closing the distance between us. Hugging my mother, tears were rolling down my cheeks as we embraced, both of us still seated on our chairs. It was nice just to have this time together.


	70. Chapter 70

"Ready ladies?" Dimitri asked, peering through the doorway after he'd knocked and I'd called out to come in.

"Sure am," I said smiling at him.

Dimitri slipped into my room, closing the door behind him.

"Janine," he said, nodding his head in her direction before coming to stand in front of me.

"You look beautiful, Roza," he said, leaning down and tenderly kissing me. I was a little surprised he did that in front of my mother, but I suppose it was part of him showing her we were a couple and didn't need her permission.

"Yes, yes," Mom grumbled. "Plenty of time for kissing later. Let's go get my daughter her allocation." She sounded more resigned than pissed off.

"Keep your hair on," I teased, standing on tiptoes to brush my lips against Dimitri's one more time before checking myself in the mirror.

I was wearing my formal Guardian dress uniform for the first time; black pants, white shirt, and black blazer. Our uniforms were usually fairly shapeless and far from figure flattering, but mine looked _awesome_. Unbeknownst to me, Baba had arranged to have them altered by Miroslava in Baia. She'd already had my measurements from my gown, so over the couple of days we were at St. Basil's doing our trials, she'd tweaked and tailored my everyday and dress uniforms so they were ready when I graduated.

Consequently, my pants were the ideal length and well fitted. My white button up shirt was tailored at the waist yet still fitting perfectly across the bust, so there would be no pulling or gaping. Finally, she'd shortened the jacket ever so slightly, again shaping it at the waist and ensuring the shoulders were a precise fit. The changes, while subtle, made _all_ the difference. Now I was wearing the uniform, whereas before the uniform wore me!

"That dressmaker really knows her stuff," Mom admired, her thoughts headed in the same direction as my own as she looked in the mirror, comparing her shapeless uniform to my tailored one.

"Yep. It's not every girl who gets her black and whites altered by the chief costume maker for the Bolshoi Ballet," I laughed.

Mom rolled her eyes.

"Your father always has had more money than sense."

Dimitri opened the door to my room and stepped out, earning a very surprised look from Chelsea and Ryan who were coming down the corridor. If their looks were anything to go by, they had no idea about Dimitri and me and were surprised to see him coming out of my dorm room. When Mom followed me out, and they appreciated I hadn't been alone behind closed doors with Dimitri, they relaxed again. Well insomuch as any junior Guardian relaxed around my mother.

"Guardian Hathaway," Ryan acknowledged. "Are you coming to see Rose get her allocation?"

Der. No shit, Sherlock.

"Yes, that's right," my mother replied brusquely. "Wouldn't miss it."

Ryan looked too terrified to say anything else, so it was a bit of a relief when Eddie and Meredith joined us.

"Guardian Hathaway," Eddie greeted effortlessly, without fear. "Good to see you again!"

"Thank you, Castile. All the best today. You too, Edwards. You've both done very well, and I hope you get favorable allocations."

Her words set a tense mood as together we descended the stairs and made the short walk across to Guardian Headquarters. It was a big day for all of us.

There was a larger group than I'd expected gathered waiting, but when I saw Blake talking to a group of new Guardians I didn't know, I realized the St. Michael's graduates must be here, too. I heard my name mentioned a few times, and a couple of people were pointing, looking in the same direction at me, but we were called inside before it had a chance to get awkward.

When we got inside, I was amazed. There, standing in a group chatting, were Celeste, Emil, Pavel and a whole heap of Guardians from St. Vlad's including…

"ALBERTA!" I squealed, running over and throwing myself into the graying Guardian's arms. "I didn't know you were going to be here for this!" I wailed, suddenly feeling like I was a little girl again, showing Alberta my treasures, crying when I fell over roller skating, or listening to her patiently explain why I couldn't hit a Moroi over the head with a toy, even if they deserved it.

"Since we didn't have a graduation ceremony, I couldn't miss the allocations – and a lot of the other Guardians felt the same way," she explained, gesturing to the group assembled.

Looking around, I could see a heap of the St. Vladimir's Guardians. I had to admit – it was nice to see them all.

We chatted for a moment, but then it was time to move into the room and get ready for things to start.

"I'll be waiting at the side of the room for you," Dimitri murmured, preparing to follow the large delegation from St. Vladimir's. Looking across, there were a small number of other Guardians assembled, clearly here to see loved ones get their first allocations. Brothers and sisters, for the most part, although I did see a couple of older Guardians who could be uncles or perhaps fathers.

Speaking of fathers, there was mine standing smugly next to Guardian Croft at the front of the room.

"How did he get in here?" I asked in surprise. When Abe said he wanted to see me get my allocation, I thought he meant be in town for it, not in the room! I really should have known better. If anyone was going to get what he wanted, it was Baba.

"Goodness knows, but you'd better go and say hello," my mother replied.

For once, Baba was not dressed outlandishly. In fact, today's ensemble was positively demure – a black suit, white shirt, and a conservative dark green scarf. The only Moroi in the room, he almost blended in amongst the sea of black and white. Almost.

"Baba?! What are you doing here?" I asked as Dimitri and Mom peeled off to stand to the side with the other observers. "This is meant to be for Guardians only?"

"Apparently Mr. Mazur was impressed by all the hard work he observed from the Guardians in training. He's here to offer each Guardian a small token of appreciation," Croft said drolly. I'll give him credit; Croft didn't roll his eyes or smirk once.

"So you couldn't bully your way in here, so you bought your way inside instead?" I laughed in exasperation at my father.

"That's right!" he said proudly without a hint of remorse. "I wasn't missing my girl's big day for anything."

"So what did it cost you?" I asked.

"Less than I thought. A fifty-dollar gift card each."

I looked around the room, mentally doing the math.

"But that's…"

"Worth every penny to see my little girl's big moment," he interrupted, leaning over and kissing my cheek. "Go line up with your friends, kiz."

I hmmphed but did what he said. Mom was right. The man had more money than sense!

Finding Meredith and Eddie in the group of just-graduated Guardians, I went to stand beside them. They were standing close together with a group of other friends from St. Vlad's, and while I couldn't be sure, it looked as though they were occasionally brushing their hands against one another's. If I could, I'd have a quiet word with Eddie later on to get his take on what was going on with Meredith.

"Can I have your attention, please," Croft said from the front. The man didn't need a microphone. If there was one thing Guardians had drilled into them from the day dot, it was the chain of command. And for Guardians, it didn't get any higher than Guardian Hans Croft.

Starting with a quick preamble, Croft then introduced my father to say a few words.

I felt myself shrinking a little, hoping my father wasn't going to single me out in front of my peers. I didn't mind people knowing he was my dad – but that wasn't meant to be what today was about.

Thankfully Baba kept it short and sweet, making general remarks about the dedication we'd all put into our training, and how he was here today to give a small token of appreciation.

That out of the way, Croft started alphabetically, referring to a long list of names on a sheet he was holding. A little like a traditional graduation ceremony, Croft started with the name, then their starting rank and the details of their allocation. The Guardian would then take their white envelope with their allocation particulars, shake Croft's hand and this year shake my father's hand and receive a small white envelope from him as well.

The first couple of names were people I didn't know, so I suppose they must be from St. Michael's or some other academy. My eyes met Eddie's as Croft skipped the part where 'Ashford, Mason' should have been called. We each gave the other a sad look. Gone but not forgotten.

Finally, someone I knew was called forth.

"Ayett, Blake. White, New Moon."

There were titters amongst the crowd. A White, New Moon was the third of the starting ranking levels. While still relatively low, it was a rank not usually received until a year or two out. It suggested a particularly good training score or some other service of merit. Probably the mission, I thought to myself.

"Guardian Ayett, you are allocated to serve at St. Vladimir's Academy."

Blake shook Croft's hand, received his envelope, then shook Baba's hand before crossing to stand on the other side of the room with the other allocated Guardians. He looked pleased enough with the allocation. Amongst the hierarchy of guarding it was low, but not the lowest. The priority was Royal Moroi, then not-royal Moroi, Academy and finally Court.

Croft continued calling out names and allocations. There was a Blue, Quarter Moon allocated to an Ivashkov Lord, and then finally we were approaching the Cs.

Meredith wasn't even trying to hide the fact she was squeezing Eddie's hand when Croft announced, "Castile, Eddison. Red, Quarter Moon. Guardian Castile, you are allocated as secondary Guardian to Lord Christian Ozera."

There were surprised murmurs from the crowd as Eddie shook Croft's hand then Baba's. A Red Moon at graduation was unheard of, but more people seemed to be commenting on Christian getting a Guardian. In fact, since Eddie was a secondary, two! The Ozera's, generally, were well respected enough within Moroi society, but it was no secret that Christian's parents had willingly turned Strigoi. Since then, that branch of the family had been consistently overlooked during allocations, despite their Royal status.

I wracked my brain wondering who the primary might be. Eddie was the third top graduate, after Artyom and me. I couldn't see them bringing Artyom across to guard Christian, so it had to be an established Guardian getting the role.

In spite of everyone's surprise, there was no mistaking Eddie's grin. It had all worked out as they'd hoped, and right about now, Christian would be getting a text telling him 'Guardian Eddison Castile, secondary Guardian' would be reporting in for duty tomorrow morning.

A few more names were called, and I'd taken Eddie's place beside Meredith. This time I squeezed her hand as Croft called out, "Edwards, Meredith. Blue, Full Moon. Guardian Edwards, you are allocated as secondary Guardian to Princess Vasilisa Dragomir."

Ok. I'll admit it. My heart did lurch a little, but I plastered a smile on my face as Meredith shook Croft's hand, receiving the white packet I had hoped for. If I hadn't been made primary Guardian for Liss, I would have accepted secondary. But here we were – Meredith was off to Lehigh with my best friend, and I was off to New Hampshire.

Walking to stand next to Eddie in the group of allocated Guardians, Meredith looked thrilled but stunned. I don't think she'd forseen this. Eddie looked pretty damned happy, too. Maybe I didn't need to ask him about his intentions toward Meredith after all.

I watched the two of them with a heavy heart. It should have been Dimitri and me guarding Lissa and Christian. But that wasn't the way it worked out, and it didn't pay to dwell on things. Hopefully, things would work out for us, too.

More names were called, and then I was up next.

"Hathaway, Rosemarie. Black, New Moon."

The rank wasn't a complete surprise to me. Dimitri had mentioned he was a Black Moon on first allocation, too. Given we had the same training score, and both won the elimination fights, I'd suspected I'd get a high rank. Although I thought he'd been a quarter moon? I'd have to ask.

"Guardian Hathaway, you are allocated to a Queen's Project."

I went forward and shook Croft's hand, smiling although my eyes were glistening slightly. Then I stepped forward, and Baba gave me a long hug, passing me a pink envelope instead of one of the white ones he was handing out to everyone else.

"Congratulations, kiz. I'm so very proud."

If there'd been murmurs for Eddie, there was outright conversation and speculation about my allocation. Other than those in the know, pretty much everyone had expected me to be allocated to Lissa. That it hadn't happened was a surprise. Additionally, no one seemed to know what a 'Queen's Project' was. I couldn't blame them – the details were a bit sketchy to me right now, too!

I went to stand beside Eddie and Meredith, blinking to make sure I wasn't going to cry. Looking across to where Dimitri stood beside my mother and Alberta, he had a calm, unsurprised face, but when his eyes met mine, he gave me a tender, loving smile. Mom, on the other hand, had a white handkerchief out and was dabbing at her eyes. Not usually one to show emotion or a lot of affection, Mom was very obviously affected. Meeting my eyes across the room, she gave me an embarrassed smile as Alberta slipped her arm around her shoulders and whispered something comforting.

I stood and listened as strangers, as well as people I'd known most of my life, received their allocations. There were no real surprises, most getting the sort of allocations I'd expect.

Finally, Croft drew things to a close, asking the St. Vladimir's graduates to stay behind. Once the other newly allocated Guardians departed, Alberta stepped forward to announce that as there had been no St. Vladimir's graduation ceremony, this year, she was taking this opportunity to get photos of the graduating class. Within minutes she had us lined up on tiered boards on the side of the room, a photographer appearing to do the honors.

After the group shot, we were directed to line up alphabetically to have our individual photos taken.

That done, one by one everyone wandered off back to the Guardian dorms. There was going to be another party tonight before official duties started at 7 pm tomorrow. Dimitri and I were hanging around waiting to speak with Guardian Croft.

"Belikov? Why don't you get a photo with Hathaway Junior?" Alberta suggested with a twinkle in her eye. "You know – mentor and student."

He shrugged and looked at me. Might as well – there weren't a lot of photos of us together, and Olena would love a nice one of us in our dress uniforms for the photo wall in Baia.

"We're not student and mentor anymore," I reminded Alberta as Dimitri and I moved into place, me standing on a step in front of him, so our heights weren't so disparate.

"Yes. What a relief that must be," Alberta declared with a smirk, before disappearing to chat with some of the other Guardians loitering around.

Photos finished, we wandered over to Croft who was just wrapping things up with my father, Pavel standing beside him.

"Darling! I've arranged a party tonight at my house in your honor. All the arrangements are made – you just have to show up!"

"Who's invited?" I asked nervously. I had planned to spend my last night at Court with my friends.

"Everyone. Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Meredith, Celeste… Your mother will be there, too, and she's invited some people from St. Vlad's. Come over whenever you're ready after 6.30 am."

"Is Tasha invited?" I asked curiously.

"I don't think I'd be able to keep her away," Abe laughed, giving Pavel an arch look.

The poor man flushed, looking particularly uncomfortable.

"Alright, we'll see you later," I said as the long-suffering Pavel and Abe took their leave.

"Glad that's over," Croft said, gesturing for Dimitri and me to follow him. We crossed the meeting hall and went through a door at the rear of the hall which led into the labyrinthine hallways and passages of Guardian Headquarters. Run down, with worn carpet squares and scuffed walls, this place was all about function with scant regard for aesthetics.

"Come on in," Croft said, opening a door with his name emblazoned on it. "Please take a seat."

For the next half hour, Croft outlined our allocation. What he knew, what he suspected and what he'd be expecting. There were still a lot of unknowns, and the chief message seemed to be that we needed to be adaptable. Then we were signing our Court provided credit cards, getting the keys for a vehicle we'd be picking up in New Hampshire, and given new cell phones and laptops along with an exhaustive list of what we could, and couldn't, tell others about where we were going and what we were doing.

The Guardian Council meeting dates were also provided, Croft explaining we would be reporting in every four weeks on a Friday to the Council and would be flown back to Court for the weekend for this purpose. These meetings would coincide with a meeting with the Alchemists based at Court; Sydney and Tristan.

"Have they arrived yet?" Dimitri asked curiously.

"Yes. They arrived not long ago. In fact, I'm meant to take you over there to meet them after this."

The last of the instructions and signatures in place, Croft stood up and shook Dimitri's hand then mine.

"I don't think it's going to be a tough allocation in terms of danger, but you might have your work cut out getting them to cooperate with you. I understand the ones you will be working alongside are receptive, but those you'll be training might have the prejudices and uncertainty their kind are renowned for. You won't be able to have visitors, but you'll have three weekends in four off, plus the car. Make use of them."

Dimitri gave me a reassuring look as we followed Croft from the room, heading across to the Palace.

"The Alchemists have been given their own residence in the guest section of Court," Hans explained, "as well as offices here in the Palace. They've just met with her Majesty, and I believe they're currently receiving a tour."

The three of us crossed the courtyard, entering the Palace by the Guardians' entrance. Situated on the basement level, while not quite a servant's entrance, the Guardians' entrance allowed Guardians to discreetly enter and exit the Palace at the lower 'operational' level rather than traipsing through the formal areas on the ground floor. Quickly signing in, we took the service stairs to the ground floor, opening a large door to step into the Palace foyer. I was looking around while trying not to be obvious about it. This place was huge!

I knew who was there before I even heard his voice. Dimitri bristling beside me was indication enough.

"Guardians Croft, Belikov and Hathaway. Lovely to see you again! May I present Field Agents Tristan Bellows and Sydney Sage?" Adrian said formally, the picture of elegance and hospitality.

Knowing they might find the touch of a handshake a bit confronting we all nodded, making the required polite words of greeting. But something felt off. Tristan and Sydney seemed nice enough, although perhaps a little overwhelmed by the whole situation. No. It was Adrian who seemed off. He'd apparently been tasked with touring the Alchemists around the Palace and meeting with us - and by the looks of things, he was doing an admirable job.

What was off is that he was missing his usual cavalier attitude and snarky remarks. He was being polite, solicitous and _oh my God!_ Not only was Adrian sober, he was staring at Sydney Sage like a man who'd just found his sole reason for living. And God help the girl, I think she had no idea!


	71. Chapter 71

The dormitory hallway was even busier than last night, newly allocated Guardians gathered in groups comparing their allocations and celebrating, or commiserating, as the case may be. Someone had found a speaker system and put some tunes on, and the alcohol was flowing.

"Where've you been, Hathaway?" Shane Reyes bellowed as Dimitri and I made our way up to the third floor. "And what the hell is a 'Queen's Project' anyway?"

"Seeing Croft, and not allowed to say," I replied, feeling a little out of sorts. Normally I'd be in my element at a party like this, and part of me still wanted to be, but I had to go to Baba's in a bit.

"I couldn't believe it when Meredith got the Princess and not you," Chelsea said, looking at me with genuine pity. "Are you ok? I knew how much you wanted to guard Lissa."

"It's ok," I said with a small smile. "I've known for a few days I wasn't going to be allocated to Lissa. Croft told me in Russia I'd been selected for a special project."

"What can you tell us about it?" Dean asked. He was one of those not so thrilled with his new charge, an older Lazar Lord, so I suppose he was hoping misery might find company.

"Not a lot. It's a five-year mission and I'll be going with Belikov here."

While I'd been chatting with my friends, Dimitri had been standing awkwardly beside me – not part of the conversation, yet not removed from it, either.

"Makes sense," Dean replied. "The way you two fight is something else. If anyone were to be sent on a Strigoi hunting mission, it would be you two!"

I smiled. I wasn't sure there'd be a lot of facing Strigoi where we were headed, but they might as well believe that.

"Does that mean you'll be living away for five years?" Ryan asked shrewdly.

"Yeah. But we'll be coming back each month to report to the Guardian Council."

"Reporting direct?! That must be one hell of a mission," Ryan said with a whistle.

I shrugged. There wasn't much I could say.

"Well come on – let's get you a drink," Shane said giving me a flirty smile. "What about you, Belikov? Want a beer?"

I was surprised when Dimitri nodded. Usually, he avoided social gatherings like this.

"We can only stay for one, Shane," I called out as he was headed across to a cooler someone had placed in the middle of the hallway. "My father is having a party for me tonight."

That started another conversation about who my father was. While a few knew, the rest of my former classmates had no idea I was related to the infamous Abe Mazur.

"So _that's_ why you got a pink envelope while the rest of us got white ones," a rather drunken Justin voiced. "We all got fifty buck vouchers – what did you get?"

I had no idea, so I fished the envelope out of my pocket and opened it, tenting the card inside open I could see my father's messy scrawl.

 _Congratulations on your first allocation. With love, Baba_

Next to it was a gift card. And I had _no idea_ you could get them in such a high value!

"I got a gift card, too. One hundred dollars," I lied, shaving two zeros from the end of my father's beneficence. I handed the envelope to Dimitri, who immediately knew it wasn't a one hundred dollar voucher.

"Take care of this for me will you, Comrade?" I asked.

He nodded, taking the envelope and slipping it into his inner duster pocket.

"Congratulations, Meredith!" I said when she and Eddie made their way down the corridor to greet us. "You happy with your allocation?"

"Thrilled!" she said with a grin.

"We both are!" Eddie added, slipping his arm around Meredith's waist and leaning down to kiss her temple tenderly.

It looked like it was going to work out for them, after all. As secondaries around the same age as Lissa and Christian, they'd probably be mostly on the day shift and attending classes with the Royal couple at Lehigh, which meant they'd be off-shift every night together. Exactly the arrangement Dimitri and I had hoped for. I didn't begrudge their happiness and good fortune, but it was hard not to wish things had worked out that way for he and I.

The four of us chatted for a while, and then Dimitri and I started wandering from group to group. This could be the last time I saw some of these people, so I took my time saying my goodbyes and wishing everyone well with their new roles.

At six, Dimitri and I moved to our separate dorm rooms, changing out of our dress uniforms and into casual wear to attend Abe's gathering.

"You ready?" Eddie asked as I stepped back out into the corridor. He was waiting for me with Meredith. They must be going to Abe's party, too.

"Just waiting for Dimitri," I said, looking up and seeing my Russian God walk down the corridor toward us. With his height, hair loose around his face, and in a casual pair of cargos and a dark, tight TShirt, he looked mouthwatering! Oh the things I wanted to do with that man.

"Come on. Let's go to Abe's. The drinks will be better there," Eddie laughed, referring to my father's habit of perennially, and expensively, over catering any function.

* * *

"So do you always work so _hard_ Pavel?" Tasha was asking, her voice low and husky. "Surely you've earned a little time for fun?"

Tasha was standing uncomfortably close to Pavel on the landing outside Abe's house; the two of them completely oblivious to our approach. Pavel wasn't appreciating Tasha's overtures, but she couldn't see that.

"I know you don't make it to Court often. I'd be very glad to take you around the sights. I could _show you a good time."_

Eddie was trying not to snigger at Tasha's blatant come-ons. I started grumbling about nothing in particular as we approached the house, making our presence known.

"Ahh Belikov! I have an urgent matter to discuss with you," Pavel said, his relief clear when his eyes lit upon us. "Excuse me, Lady Ozera."

"Hi, Tasha – how's it going?" I asked.

She sighed.

"It goes," she replied, eyeing Pavel's ass longingly as he walked back inside with Dimitri. "Come on – let's find Christian and Lissa."

Eddie had been right – as usual, Abe had gone overboard. Waiters were moving around flutes of champagne and elegant canapés, and there was classy music playing in the background. Personally, I thought most of those invited would have preferred a keg and some sizeable steaks on the grill, but there you go.

Mom was seated on a sofa in the formal lounge, chatting with Alberta. Both of them were wearing casual gear, although I could see Mom had dressed up a bit. A few other Guardians were floating around the living room, but Tasha led us toward the less formal family room out the back where the younger people were gathered.

"You're late," Lissa said, checking her watch. Quarter to seven.

"Sorry. There was a party in the Guardian dorms, so it took us a bit to get away."

Eddie and Meredith stood a little awkwardly next to me. As of 7 pm tomorrow they'd be Guardians to Christian and Lissa.

"Glad it all worked out," Christian said, taking the initiative and stepping forward to shake Eddie's hand.

"Thanks. Me, too," Eddie said returning his handshake.

"I was so happy when I got the text to discover you'd be my second Guardian," Lissa said smiling at Meredith. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

The polite formalities aside, Meredith was soon talking earnestly with Celeste. They were going to be guarding partners, so they needed to get to know each other better.

Dimitri found his way back to us, Pavel conspicuously absent. Seeing my man, and not the one she was hunting, Tasha excused herself to rejoin the main party; presumably to go in search of her reluctant prey.

"So Sparky? Any ideas on who your primary Guardian is going to be?" I asked curiously.

"Guardian Alto," Dimitri interrupted, greeting Stan as he walked through the kitchen and out to the living room where we were all standing. "I didn't expect to see you here?"

Stan looked ill at ease in his casual clothing. He was the sort of guy you could imagine being born wearing his Guardian uniform.

"Just here to see Lord Ozera and Castile," he replied stiffly, walking over to where Christian stood chatting with Eddie. The two looked up as Stan approached, both looking a little surprised.

"Lord Ozera? Guardian Stan Alto," he formally presented himself. "I have been allocated as your primary Guardian."

* * *

"Rose - you were so rude!" Lissa admonished as I was splashing water on my face, still chuckling. When Alto had announced he was Christian's primary Guardian, I had started laughing so hard tears were running down my face. Lissa had decided my display was unseemly, so had dragged me to a powder room off the family room until I could control my mirth.

"I'm sorry," I spluttered. "But it's _Alto!"_ I said, starting up again.

"From what I've heard he's a fine Guardian," Lissa said a little frostily.

"He is," I replied honestly. He might be annoying and hung up on protocol, but he was a decent Guardian, and he'd look after them. "I just can't imagine him fitting in at a university. He's so… _starched!"_ I wailed, descending into laughter again.

Lissa's lip twitched. I had a point!

"Come on," she said smiling, looping her arm around my waist. "It's an awkward time for everyone. Go out there and try not to laugh at the poor man!"

We moved back out into the family room.

"I'm sorry – I don't know what came over me," I said, the corners of my mouth still twitching. "Congratulations, Alto, when do you start?"

"7 pm tomorrow, same as the others," he said stiffly.

"Well that's good – you can all get used to each other together," I said, glancing at Eddie who was looking a lot less delighted about his allocation than he had ten minutes ago. "What's the plan? Will you all be staying at Tasha's?"

"I think so," Christian answered. "We'll be staying at Court until Lehigh, although now we both have Guardians, we were thinking of returning to St. Vlad's to sort and collect the rest of our stuff. Lissa also wants to visit the Dragomir estate."

That thought was enough to wipe the smile off my face instantly. Lissa hadn't been back to the family house since her parents and brother died. It was something she had to face sometime, but I hadn't imagined she'd do it without me by her side.

"There's a couple of months before classes start. But I should fix things up in Montana," Lissa explained soberly.

"See how you go," I suggested gently. "If you do it over a weekend, maybe I could fly down and help you with it?"

Lissa's eyes lit up, and I could see they were welling with tears.

"Would you?" she pleaded. "I know Christian will be with me, but…"

"Of course I will," I promised, giving Dimitri a look which told him I wouldn't listen to any arguments to the contrary. All else aside, Lissa was still my best friend and bond mate. Just because I wasn't allocated to her didn't mean I didn't care or wouldn't be there to support her when she needed me.

"Let's wait until I'm where I'm going then we'll talk schedules. I might only be able to come for a day or two," I warned.

Lissa nodded.

"I just want to store my stuff from St. Vlad's at the house," she explained, "and there are a few of my parents' things I'd like to take to Lehigh."

Christian had moved around to stand beside Lissa, winding his arm around her waist.

"So you guys having a good time?" Abe asked, moving into the family room. The mood was pretty somber.

"We're about to," I said merrily, snagging a couple of glasses of champagne from a passing server and passing one to Lissa. It was time this turned into an actual party!

Christian and Eddie found an X-box game console and hooked it up to the flatscreen, and soon the guys were on the sofa taking turns at a car racing game.

Celeste and Meredith were still talking, which left Tasha, Lissa and I.

"So what does Pavel do in his time off?" Tasha asked with no attempt at subtlety.

I had no idea, but the guy had been good to me, so I tried to lead Tasha off the scent.

"I'm pretty sure he spends his time at the Guardian Gym. You know - working out."

Tasha looked like she was going to swoon at the idea of the forty-something Guardian in his workout wear all hot and sweaty. He didn't do anything for me, but each to their own!

I was listening to Tasha and Lissa talk as I watched Dimitri taking on Eddie in the race game. They were both taking it far too seriously, and I swear I heard Dimitri say something filthy in Russian when Eddie thrashed him. After all his comments about _my_ language, Guardian Belikov had quite a dirty mouth himself, I'd discovered. Sipping a champagne, I watched him for a moment, fantasizing about what he could do to me with that mouth later in the evening.

The guys switched to a baseball game, then after a couple of hours, they moved on to a karaoke game. We all joined in, and were having a great time humiliating ourselves with our largely non-existent singing abilities. Even the older partygoers moved through to the family room to join the hilarity.

"Where's Pavel?" I asked Abe, noticing Tasha sitting dispiritedly on the arm of a sofa.

"Hiding upstairs," Abe sniggered in a rather juvenile manner. "He's feeling a little overwhelmed by Tasha's interest."

"You're not really going to stay at Court, are you?"

"No," Abe laughed. "We're going to return to Russia after you leave. But make sure you email me a copy of the dates you're going to be back at Court. I still have to visit regularly, so I'll make sure I coincide my trips."

It was a sobering thought. Baba had become such a huge part of my life, and soon he'd be back on the other side of the world.

"Thanks for my voucher, by the way. Completely over the top, just so you know."

"Only the best for my little girl," he said, pulling me into a hug. "Make sure you spoil yourself. Now, the night's getting on… I suppose I should say a few words?"

"Not tonight, Baba," I pleaded. "I don't want to make a big deal of things, ok?"

"Understood," he said, squeezing me against him. "No speeches."

Abe went across to ask the servers to freshen the drinks, and I moved to sit on the sofa between Mom and Alberta. The two of them were howling with laughter as Celeste and Alto hammed up the duet 'I Got You Babe.' Alto could sing, while Celeste couldn't, but it was the way they were pretending to make eyes at each other that made it all the more hilarious. Perhaps Alto wouldn't be such a drag at Lehigh after all?

After that, Meredith, Celeste, Lissa, Tasha, and I sang a singularly tuneless version of 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' before Alberta convinced Emil to accompany her in a surprisingly good rendition of 'Today I Started Loving You Again.'

"Come on Belikov," Alberta said, passing the microphone to Dimitri. "Your turn!"

He shook his head, trying to pass the microphone back.

"No getting out of it, man," a tipsy Eddie piped up. "Viktoria told us you used to be good at karaoke!"

Dimitri muttered a few choice words that I now understood before rolling his eyes and crossing the floor to the console, looking up an Elvis song. Can't Help Falling in Love.

Viktoria was right. My man could sing. And it was beautiful. Dimitri's deep brown orbs didn't leave mine as he crooned the well-known words to the classic love song. There might as well not have been anyone else in the room because they ceased to exist as far as I was concerned. All I could focus on was my love and the tender words spilling from his lips.

"That was wonderful," Alberta beamed as Dimitri handed back the microphone, "and a hard act to follow! Anyone else want a shot?"

She was met by headshakes and yawns.

"It's getting late. Some of us start new jobs in the morning," Meredith joked standing up, Eddie doing likewise and moving to stand beside her. And like that, the evening was over and it was time to say goodbye. One by one everyone left, me getting increasingly teary with each farewell I had to make.

Alto and the St. Vlad's Guardians left first, Alberta giving me a long hug.

"I'm proud of you, Rose," she said, her eyes glistening. "You'll do well. Don't be a stranger - come back and visit when you can."

She moved on to Dimitri. "You look after her," she growled fiercely.

"Always," Dimitri promised.

Lissa, Christian, and Tasha were next to leave. Lissa and I had agreed she'd not come to the airport in the morning, so tonight was it. I was unashamedly bawling as we embraced.

"I'll text you when we get in," I promised, "then I'll call you on Sunday. But if anything comes up let me know," I requested, referring to our bond.

Dimitri and I had talked about it, and we had agreed other than texts to let everyone know we'd arrived safely, we wouldn't call anyone until the first weekend. We needed to settle and focus on our new roles and not the friends and family we'd had to leave behind.

"I'm going to miss you," Lissa wailed. "I've never had to do things alone."

"You won't be alone," I promised, giving Christian a look. He stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, Liss. It's time to go."

"You'll call Sunday? I want to know everything!" she asked, dabbing at her eyes in a futile attempt to stem the flow of tears.

"I promise, Liss."

Then with a final hug and a kiss, Christian was leading her toward the door, Celeste and Emil following.

"Good luck, Rose, Belikov" Christian called back over his shoulder. "We'll see you soon."

Tasha hugged me and then Dimitri. It was weird to see her with her arms wrapped around my man and not worry about it. She lingered just a moment, and for just a second I wondered if the compulsion was wearing off, but when she pulled away, there was only friendship on her face.

"Hope it goes well for you guys," she smiled referring to both our mission and our relationship. "All the best!"

"Thanks, Tasha," Dimitri replied on behalf of both of us.

Then it was Mom, Baba, Eddie, Meredith, Dimitri and me.

"Thank you for everything, Abe," Eddie said, holding his hand out to Baba. "Meredith and I can never thank you enough for all you've done for us."

Meredith agreed. "Thank you. We'll always appreciate your kindness."

Abe blustered how thanks were not necessary and that they were welcome.

"Rose? Eddie and I might start walking back. We'll see you back in the dorms?" Meredith suggested.

I nodded. It was time to say goodbye to my parents. Now Tasha had left, Pavel had miraculously reappeared, so I started there.

"Take care of him," I whispered as I hugged Pavel goodbye. "And thank you."

"Shall do, and you're welcome," Pavel replied.

Then it was Mom's turn.

"Lord Szelsky has decided to stay at Court for another few months," she announced, "so I'll be here when you come back for your first report to the Guardian Council."

"And in the meantime, I could call?" I suggested tentatively.

"I'd like that," she said, pulling me to her. "We'll plan that visit to Elaine and Bridget's."

"Janine," Dimitri acknowledged once I'd let Mom go.

"Don't you let anything happen to her," she ordered.

"I won't."

They hugged awkwardly, and it wasn't just because of their size difference.

After a cuddle and a few final words with Abe, Dimitri had his arm around my shoulder, guiding me to the front door.

"We'll see you in a month," Dimitri said by way of farewell.

We walked back to the dorms in silence, holding hands with scant regard for who might see us.

"It will be ok, ангел. We'll face the change together."

"I know. I'm just sad. Stay with me tonight?"

"Tonight, and every night from now on," he pledged.

* * *

"Wake up, Roza. It's 6 pm."

I groaned, burying my head under a pillow. After Baba's party, we'd come back to the dorms and shared a final drink or two with Eddie and Meredith. We hadn't gone to bed until 1 pm, so I was feeling tired and a little emotional today. And frustrated. Dimitri and I had been too tired to spend any sexy time together, last night, instead falling into bed beside each other, asleep almost before our heads hit the pillows. So I was feeling irritated by that, too, this morning!

"Everyone will be up, soon. I need to get back to my room," my Russian God whispered as he nuzzled against my neck. "Up you get, sleepyhead!"

I finally moved when Dimitri ripped the quilt off me, earning himself some particularly descriptive threats.

I threw on a robe and checked the hallway – giving Dimitri the all-clear before closing the door and climbing into the shower. We were flying out at 7 pm along with a few other Guardians headed east. Croft had warned us it would be a bit of a milk run – ours being the third and final stop.

Washed, dressed and packed, I opened the door to my room, dragging the two bags that comprised my lifelong belongings out into the hallway. I could see several other doors along the corridor were open, too. 7 pm being the start time, Guardians were packing up to fly out, others dressing for their first shifts if their charges were local.

Meredith opened her door, stepping out dressed in the everyday Guardian uniform.

"Big day," she said nervously when she saw me.

"I know but you'll be ok. Lissa gets a bit cranky if she needs to feed," I counseled, "and if she's getting tired, make her a cup of Lady Grey tea. It's her favorite, and perks her up."

Meredith nodded, committing these details to memory.

The door to Chelsea's room opened and she dragged out three large bags.

"I can't even zip them up," she groaned. "Rose? Meredith? Can you help me?"

The three of us were bending over helping Chelsa with her overflowing suitcases when I heard footsteps in the corridor behind us.

"Now that's what I call a fine view," a voice behind me said so quietly I almost missed it. Shane Reyes if I had to hazard a guess.

"Hmm. Nothing like a tight pair of pants on a woman," Justin agreed in an admiring whisper.

A third guy chuckled. "I wouldn't say no." Ryan.

I was about to turn around and tell them in no uncertain terms exactly what I thought about them staring at our asses.

"You guys are perverts," a voice I recognized as Eddie's chided. "And what you're doing is not a good idea," he cautioned.

"What? It's just a bit of innocent fun," Shane defended. "Hathaway can stare at my ass _anytime she wants,"_ he justified.

"What's innocent fun?" my love's deeply accented voice asked disdainfully. He didn't sound pleased, so there was no doubt in my mind he'd heard the rest of Shane's comments and taken exception to them.

"They were checking out the girls' asses," Eddie said matter of factly, disapproval evident in his voice.

Ok. It was time for me to step in. Helping Meredith secure Chelsea's final bag, I stood up, turning to face the guys. Dimitri was standing with Eddie, Shane, Justin, and Ryan - and he was looking murderous.

I checked my watch. 6.40 pm.

I sauntered over to the group, adding the slightest bit of swing to my hips as I did so. I walked straight up to Dimitri, ending up close and well within his personal body space.

"Are you all ready to go, Comrade?" I asked, looking up at him and giving him a sexy look, the fingers of my right hand toying with the button on the pocket on his shirt.

"Uh ha. We should get going," he replied, his voice husky. "Our ride will be here in five."

Dimitri's eyes dropped to my bottom lip which I was biting coyly with my teeth. Lifting his eyes back to mine, he saw my loaded look and knew what was going to happen next. I was going to help him stake his claim.

Stepping closer, I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, standing on tiptoes and letting my lips find his for a long, smoldering kiss. One of his arms snaked around my waist as his lips pressed firmly against mine, the other hand finding its way to my ass, holding me there possessively. Lips still locked, Dimitri growled - using the hand on my backside to pull me harder against him as he deepened the kiss.

Finally, I pulled away with a disappointed sigh.

"Time to go," I said, stepping back and picking up one of my bags. "Good luck, everyone," I called out over my shoulder as Dimitri picked up his bag, and my second one, walking beside me down the hallway. No one said anything – I think they were all taken back by our impromptu display of affection.

Dimitri and I were at the landing at the top of the stairs at the end of the hallway when Eddie chuckled.

"And that's just _one_ reason it's not a good idea to check out Hathaway's ass."


	72. Chapter 72

"Next stop New Hampshire," I said to Dimitri with a nervous grin as we took off again. After a major delay taking off from Court, we'd finally taken to the sky at 9 pm. It was the day all new Guardians started their allocations, so the airfield had plane after plane lined up, moving Guardians out to their new roles all over the country.

We were in one of the Court aircraft headed for Syracuse, New York. Once we'd landed, we'd waited on the tarmac a couple of hours. Three Guardians had got off, another two eventually boarding. The second batch had been running late, hence the delay.

After that, we'd flown to Albany, where everyone except us disembarked. Even the pilot! We'd lounged and hung out onboard for another couple of hours, it being the middle of the human night. Eventually, a new pilot arrived, and now we were continuing, headed for Concord, New Hampshire. Honestly, it would have been quicker had we driven from Pennsylvania!

Our instructions had been as brief as they were explicit. Exit the terminal at Concord and find the SUV with a particular license plate. We each already had a set of the keys, but I knew there was no way Dimitri would let me drive! We were then directed to drive to a particular address in Meredith, where we would be met.

"Nervous, Roza?" Dimitri asked, lifting the armrest between us, chuckling warmly as I climbed into his lap.

"A bit," I conceded. Now it was happening, all my doubts were coming to the surface.

I sat cuddled against Dimitri peacefully, lost in my thoughts. It wasn't long before I had to climb back into my own seat and then we were touching down.

"Welcome to New Hampshire, Comrade," I whispered, leaning forward and kissing Dimitri gently.

"Our home for the next five years," Dimitri replied with a reassuring smile.

The terminal was tiny, and since we didn't need to stop to collect our baggage, we walked straight out to the carpark in the very first of the sun's rays. There were maybe two dozen cars parked, so it was easy enough to find the vehicle that would be ours.

"Oh! Brand new!" I swooned, looking at the pristine shiny black paint and gleaming windows. "Do I get to drive?"

"Nope!" Dimitri smirked, stowing our bags in the trunk and climbing into the driver's seat before I had much of a chance to object.

"Fine. Guess I'll enjoy the scenery," I grumbled, taking a deep breath and inhaling that new car smell.

The car had all the mod cons. Bluetooth, GPS, kick-ass stereo, an all leather interior and even a fully retractable moonroof. I already loved it.

Dimitri set the navigation system for the address in Meredith, and I spent the forty-five-minute drive pairing our phones, downloading our music onto the car's speaker system and programming the radio.

"It has satellite radio!" I moaned, quickly tuning in to my favorite station from when Lissa and I lived in Portland. I was flipping through the other options on the entertainment system when I unbuckled my belt and jumped up onto my knees, looking over the back of the seat at the rear of our headrests.

"Shut the fuck up!" I gasped in amazement.

"Roza! Language!" Dimitri snapped in surprise. "What is it? And put your belt back on!"

"There's TV screens in the back of the headrests!" I told him in shock. "I _love_ this car!"

Dimitri smiled, and I knew he felt the same way. This was a big step up from the usual Guardian transportation. And it was all ours!

* * *

"This is beautiful," I said as Dimitri drove us down the sleepy streets of Meredith. It was a tiny little town nestled on the edge of Lake Winnipesaukee, and in the breaking dawn, it was breathtaking.

"But it's small," I huffed, my nerves starting to get the better of me.

"Concord isn't too far away, and Manchester is not much further."

"Manchester?"

"The most populated city in New Hampshire," Dimitri explained. "It's just over an hour south of here."

"And you know this how?"

"It's called the Internet, Rose," he teased, giving me one of his panty-dropping smiles.

A couple of minutes on, Dimitri pulled into the parking lot of a closed restaurant, Lavinia's. It looked nice. Upmarket.

"Are you sure this is right?" I asked, peering at the GPS.

"This is the spot," Dimitri confirmed. There was our vehicle and one other in the car park. I was wondering whether we ought to get out when the driver's door on the other vehicle opened and a guy in his early twenties got out yawning. Dimitri wound down his window as the guy approached.

"Belikov and Hathaway?" he asked wearily. He looked tired but nervous – an odd combination.

"That's us," Dimitri said in a friendly, professional voice.

"We expected you hours ago. Follow me back to the training center," he said, canting his head to indicate his vehicle. "If you lose me, just pull over, and I'll loop back."

Without any further discussion, the young man climbed back into his SUV, backed up, waiting for us to do likewise before pulling out onto the main road.

Dimitri followed him through the town and then off onto a side road. We seemed to be following the edge of the lake, and best I could tell we were headed south, back toward Concord. After maybe five minutes we branched away from the lake, following smaller and smaller roads. I could see water occasionally through the trees, but I didn't think it was Lake Winnipesaukee anymore.

"There are lots of smaller lakes and waterways around here," Dimitri explained.

We'd driven about fifteen minutes when we pulled up to a fence with a timber arch structure over the gates reading 'Camp Yarrawonga.' The SUV in front of us slowed, and the deceptively rustic timber gate glided open, letting both vehicles through. I turned in my seat and saw the gate slide effortlessly closed behind us.

"Comrade?" I said nervously.

"Uh ha?"

"What do you know about summer camp?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Comrade, I think we're going to be living at a summer camp for the next five years."

If Dimitri didn't recognize a kid's vacation camp when he saw one, I sure as hell did. Sure no Dhampir or Moroi I knew had ever been to one, but there were plenty of movies where they featured. I was already picturing cold, drafty cabins, and sitting around campfires singing Kumbaya. Oh, Vlad! What hell was this?!

The vehicle we were trailing stopped beside what looked suspiciously like the main building. I was willing to bet there was a mess hall in there! Pulling up beside it, Dimitri gave me a reassuring pat on the leg before turning off the vehicle.

"It's ok. We're here together," he placated, recognizing my rising panic.

He stepped out, coming around the front of the vehicle to open my door for me. Always the gentleman. The young man from the other SUV stepped out, waiting for us to come around.

"You can leave your things in the car," he said. He wasn't rude, but he wasn't exactly friendly, either. But I suppose he had been sitting in a carpark waiting hours for us!

Dimitri nodded, and together we followed him up a set of broad steps into a rough sawn timber and stone building emblazoned across the front with 'Yarrawonga Lodge.'

Inside was exactly what I imagined – a huge communal space with long dining tables and bench seats at one end, and an open common area at the other. Sure it looked a bit more upscale than the summer camps I'd seen in movies, but there was no doubt that that was what it was!

The young guy led us over to a woman sitting at one of the tables. She was the only one in the vast space, although the stale scent of food in the air suggested the tables were normally used for meals.

The woman looked up and smiled.

"Nice to see you again. Let me introduce myself. I'm Felicity Auman."

It was her! The human I'd seen on my run at the compound back in Wyoming.

"You must be Guardians Hathaway and Belikov."

"That's right," I said in astonishment. "You were at the compound in Wyoming, weren't you?"

Dimitri looked at me in surprise. I'd never mentioned meeting a female there.

"Yes. That's my parent's house, but I'm stationed here, now. Welcome to Camp Yarrawonga," she said gesturing around her.

We both must have looked a little confused because the next thing she was laughing.

"I'm sorry – you two have the same look on your faces that I did when I first saw the place," she explained. "Please take a seat and let me tell you about what we do here."

I sat on the bench seat opposite Felicity, Dimitri seating himself beside me.

"The family bought Camp Yarrawonga some ten years ago. As you've probably guessed, it was an old summer camp, and in some ways it still is."

"The family?" I asked.

"That's what we call ourselves. Our roles run in families, and with so much inter-marrying over the years, pretty much every Alchemist, as you call us, is related in some way or another," she explained. "Alchemists is how you refer to us, but we call ourselves the family."

"Ahh, much like all the Royal Moroi call each other cousin?"

Felicity shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so."

"When they bought it, this place was used as a summer camp, of sorts. Family members at high school intending to be field-agents would visit here over the summer months to be introduced to aspects of our field training. We still do that, but this location grew to become part of the official field-agent training, too. Agents in training spend six to eight months in their final year here before they graduate."

Dimitri and I were nodding. So far everything made sense.

"Field-agent training is a competency-based curriculum, but it takes six months minimum to get through it, although some take a couple of extra months. Finally, as of this year, we're starting a short refresher course for our field-agents. The plan is we'll bring them back in for two or three months to get them up to scratch with some of our new procedures. Between the summer camp, the training, and the refresher course, we'll be running pretty much year round with a short break over Christmas."

"So the camp participants are what? Fourteen through eighteen?" Dimitri asked.

"That's right. The agents in training range from seventeen through to about twenty. They can't work as a field agent until they're eighteen. Our graduated field agents are of all ages, but for the refresher courses, we're going to start with the younger ones – so up to about twenty-five. Our Leadership Council believes the younger family members may be more open to working with Dhampirs, so we're starting there."

"So what do you see us doing?" I asked, giving Felicity a tentative smile. While I didn't think we were best buds, she didn't seem too freaked out to be sitting and talking with us.

"We're hoping you can run a combat class for fitness and self-defense, but also serve as a sort of introduction to Dhampir and Moroi culture. The Leadership Council want to work more cooperatively with the Moroi government to handle the Strigoi threat, but it's hard when most of us have never met a Dhampir or Moroi before."

"So is there a curriculum or anything like that we'd need to follow?" Dimitri checked.

"No. That will be up to you to develop. I know it might take you a while to work out what we need. More than anything, we're hoping you can talk about being Dhampir and living in the Moroi world. There's a big difference between reading something in a book and actually talking to someone who's lived it."

"So we'll be like camp counselors?" I asked. Somehow the idea seemed so demeaning.

"Maybe a little for the summer camp," she admitted. "Once the field-agents in training arrive, in addition to your combat lessons, we'd like you to do a class once a week about Dhampir and Moroi culture, talking about different aspects of how things operate in your world. It doesn't have to be formal - just more demystifying things, you know?"

"We can do that," I agreed. "So how many classes will we run? What times?" It was time to get down to brass tacks.

"There's ninety here at any given time. We've tentatively put aside three two-hour blocks in the schedule every Monday through Friday. We thought three two-hour lessons a day, thirty in each group?"

Dimitri and I looked at each other. Two hours was fine for Dhampir, but most humans would struggle with such a lengthy physical training session, especially at first. But we could break it into practical as well as theory sessions, plus Q and A.

"We can work with that," Dimitri confirmed. "When are we starting and what equipment do you have?"

"Thursday? And we have a gym," she replied standing up. "If there's anything you need that we don't have, you can order it. The Leadership Council will approve any reasonable request. They've made it clear they need this project to be a success and will resource it accordingly."

"Yeah, we got the same message from our end," I said with a smile as we also stood.

Felicity started out by showing us around the mess hall. She said we were welcome to take our meals here or in our quarters, and that most teaching staff did a combination of both. Leading us out onto the verandah of the Lodge, she pointed out various parts of the training center. I had to admit in the early morning sun, it was beautiful.

Set out in a horseshoe shape on the edge of a lake, the Lodge was the largest building on the site, set in the direct center of the camp and furthest from the water. In front was a large open area, with a lawn running all the way down to the lake.

On one side of the Lodge was a large building, which Felicity explained was the gym. A similar structure was on the other side, which was apparently made up of science laboratories and classrooms. On either side of those were dormitory buildings, five on each side. According to Felicity, each had nine individual rooms, two bathrooms, and a communal living area and that was where the students, for want of a better term, were accommodated.

The next two buildings on each end were the teacher's quarters. On the outside, they were identical to the student living quarters, but Felicity explained the rooms were larger, and each room had its own bathroom. There was also a communal kitchen and living space for the six occupants to share.

"Is that where we'll be?" I asked.

Felicity looked a little uneasy.

"Um – well the rooms are all taken," she said not meeting my eyes. "Well – I mean there _is_ a spare room in each, but we leave them for visiting staff. We get them from time to time, so we've left one room in the women's building and one in the men's…" she rambled.

Ok. So no one wanted to live with the Dhampir. Fine.

"Oh? One's for men, the other women?" I asked.

"Yes. That's the men's," she said pointing to the right, then changing to point to the left "and that's where the women sleep. It's the same for the dorms. I hope you don't mind, but we've put you and Guardian Belikov in a cottage down the end? It's closest to the water, and a bit more self-contained than the rest of the accommodation. It's just the two of you in there, but it's nice – it's been refurbished for your arrival, but if you really want, maybe we can get you rooms in the teacher's dorms…?"

"Actually, I think us in the cottage together would be best," I said quickly. "The Guardian Council will probably want to talk to us privately sometimes, and it will be easier for Dimitri and me to coordinate what we're doing if we're in the same place."

Felicity looked relieved, as did Dimitri. Sneaking around the Guardian dorms was one thing, but there was no way we'd be able to sleep beside each other every night in a segregated block, even if the rooms themselves were private.

"Shall I take you down there now? We can check out the gym on the way."

We trailed Felicity into the gym, and it was like I'd died and gone to workout heaven. All the equipment was new or in great condition, although it had the look, and smell, of a space that wasn't used very often. I could immediately see where we'd put some dummies and a sparring square, but the place was bright, well ventilated, and would be a joy to work in.

We continued down past the men's dorm blocks, then the male teacher's block, until we arrived at the cottage Dimitri and I would be sharing. And there just weren't words. It was gorgeous!

Nestled more within the trees than the other buildings, the single-story timber building was almost in its own little world. It had a deep verandah at the front, topped by a pitched roof with wide eaves. For the snow, I appreciated. Because while it was sunny and pleasant here now, in winter, it would be every bit as cold here as it was in Montana.

Pulling a key out of her pocket, Felicity opened the front door, letting us into a cozy sitting room. It had a couple of dark leather sofas, an armchair and a coffee table complementing a stone open fireplace. It all looked a bit bare at the moment, but once we added our things, it would be perfect.

Adjoining the sitting room was an open kitchen with lovely timber cabinets, stone bench tops, and stainless appliances. It was all brand new. Like the sitting room, the area was filled with natural light from the abundant windows. Off the kitchen was a pantry and laundry with an adjacent mudroom. Again this would be a blessing come winter, and in summer it would be the perfect spot to store towels, as we were a hop, skip and a jump from the lake.

"There are two bedrooms. I'm sorry about the size difference," Felicity said apologetically. We followed her into the first, and it was huge. With a king-sized bed, an entire wall of closets, an open fireplace and a door to the bathroom, I could already see Dimitri and I spending hours together in that bed.

The bathroom was a decent size, with a shower as well as a separate claw-foot bath. There were twin basins, plus a toilet in a separate room off to one side. The bathroom had a second door opening back out into the sitting area. The next door along was the other bedroom, and Felicity was right - it was a lot smaller. It had room for a double bed pushed against the wall, a small desk, and not much else. There wasn't even a closet. I could already see us putting a fold out bed in there and turning the space into a study.

Both bedrooms had plain, and if I dared say it, worn bed linens on the beds.

"We didn't know how you wanted to decorate," Felicity said when she caught me looking at the linens. "It's all clean, and there's a generous budget for new stuff, but I figured you'd want to go choose your own bedding, so I had the beds made up with some spare linens. We have an account at Macy's - perhaps you could go tomorrow and choose things to your taste?"

"That's very thoughtful of you," Dimitri said in his deep, accented voice, eyeing the bed longingly. It was about 7 am and we'd had a long journey on little sleep, plus we were switching time schedules. All either of us wanted to do was eat and go to bed!

"We want you to feel at home here. It can't be easy being away from everyone you know and love."

The tour of the cottage over, there was not much left to do other than unpack.

"There are some staples in the fridge to get you through a day or so. Otherwise, breakfast is 6.30 – 7.30 am, lunch 12.30 – 1.30 pm and dinner 6.00 – 8.00 pm. You're very welcome to join us in the Lodge."

"I think we might just bring the car down, unpack and crash," I said with a yawn. "We've been on night hours, so we need to transition back to a daylight schedule."

"That must be so difficult," Felicity said sympathetically, leading us out of the cottage but giving us each a key.

"I actually _love_ daylight," I confessed. "I can't wait to be back on a human timetable!"

We trailed Felicity back to the Lodge before thanking her and promising to join her for a meal once we woke. Then we climbed into the car and carefully drove down the pathway, noticing the first of the students watching us curiously as they came out of their dorms. Dimitri pulled up at the rear of our cottage.

"I think I'll check if I can build a carport out the back here," Dimitri mused. "That way we can park and bring groceries through the mudroom, and the car won't block the views of the lake. I'd like the car undercover…"

"How about you get _me_ undercover," I grumbled, getting one of my bags and letting myself into the back door.

"Let me do the bags, you check out the food," Dimitri ordered. We were both starving!

"Lasagna and salad?" I asked, looking at a huge homemade dish of lasagna in the fridge along with a Greek salad. Such a thoughtful gesture. I'd have to thank Felicity.

"Sounds good," Dimitri confirmed, taking his bag and mine into the larger bedroom as I rummaged around the kitchen finding plates, cutlery and even paper towel to cover the dishes as I nuked us each a huge slice of lasagna. I found placemats for the table and some paper napkins, so while Dimitri pulled out our immediate necessities from our duffels, I brought dinner to the table.

"Our first meal in our new home," Dimitri said with a smile, coming to sit opposite me at the table.

"Do you like it?" I asked nervously, gesturing around me. I was almost embarrassed to admit how much I loved our new place.

"I love it. Like I love you."

We ate in happy silence, relishing the tasty, wholesome food. Once we were done, we sat for a moment, texting our friends and family that we had arrived, were safe and would be in touch soon. Then we stacked our dishes in the half-size dishwasher, ensuring everything was put away. The kitchen was just too gorgeous to leave messy!

"Let's shower and go to bed," Dimitri proposed, grabbing my hand and pulling me through into our bedroom. He'd already switched on the fan, closed the curtains, and had our towels and wetpacks out ready. I trailed him into the bright bathroom, and we stepped into the shower together. It was a walk in type, and I was thrilled it was large enough to accommodate us both easily.

We took our time, soaping one another down and enjoying the luxury of being able to shower together. This was our first wash down in our first home. I wanted to enjoy it, even if I _was_ too tired to do anything more than clean Dimitri and let him clean me!

Both of us done, we dried off, and I mentally decided to put some of Baba's over the top allocation gift to use buying quality bath sheets when we went shopping. I was sick of using the small threadbare ones provided by the Guardian linen service, and now we were here, there was no reason we had to. I pondered the old world new world differences now we were here. A lot of things were going to change for us.

"Roza – stop," Dimitri ordered as I went to walk through into our bedroom. I was naked, but the curtains were closed, so it didn't matter.

"Comrade?" I asked, looking at him quizzically but nonetheless stopping where I stood.

With no warning, he picked me up bridal style and carried me through the doorway into our bedroom, placing me gently in the middle of the bed.

"I am so happy we're here together, ангел," he crooned, closing the door to the bathroom and the other to our bedroom before climbing into bed beside me. "So so happy."


	73. Chapter 73

For one of the first times I could remember, I woke before Dimitri. The bed had been so comfortable; I'd been out like a light as soon as we cuddled together. And now we were lying facing each other, my man still asleep.

I wondered what time it was. I rolled over, looking for a clock, but there wasn't one. Ok – first on the list of things to buy? An alarm clock!

Rolling back to face my love, I mentally went back over the cottage, thinking of what else we might need. I hadn't had a chance to check out the kitchen thoroughly, but we'd need a coffee machine, so if there weren't one of those here already, we'd get one. We'd need summer and winter linen for this bed and quite a few sets. An unfortunate side effect of our ardor was the need to change the base sheet pretty much every day. So a few sets of whatever we bought would be good. Which reminded me, I needed to check out the laundry!

We'd also need linen for the double bed in the other room – if only to keep up appearances. Dimitri and I had decided to play us as an item here by ear. We hadn't chatted about practicalities, yet, but I'd speak with him about the idea of setting the second bedroom up as a study with a fold out sofa once we were openly a couple.

There'd been a large flatscreen in the sitting room, but I couldn't remember seeing a speaker setup, and then there'd be all the usual things we'd need in a house – like coat hangers, a mop, an iron and all that. It would have been utterly overwhelming if it hadn't been for Baba's over the top gift card. It was a VISA gift card, so we could spend it anywhere, which would be helpful. So rather than panicking, I was somewhat looking forward to a trip to furnish our new place!

I thought I might buy some new workout gear, too. While I'd planned to buy it with my first paycheck, I wanted to go to our first class looking good, and everything I had was worn. Dimitri probably needed a couple of new sets, too. I knew he would be funny about me buying him stuff, but he was still sending the bulk of his wage home, so I would find a way to insist. We'd both need new trainers, too. When we were training, we typically wore a couple of pairs a day – some for running, others for gym work. We were both used to cheap pairs, but this time I was determined to get fitted and buy quality. We deserved it!

Dimitri was stirring. It took me a moment to appreciate he was searching for me in his sleep. I moved closer, curling up close to him, his face nuzzled against my breasts. He immediately settled, resting his head on my bosom.

We lay there, me stroking Dimitri's hair as he slumbered. It was the most peaceful we'd probably ever been. Here, in our own space, curled up on our bed napping with no immediate commitments. I was busy contemplating our new life together when I became aware my Russian God was waking. He'd started snuffling at my breasts, almost like an infant. Looping an arm around my waist, he closed the distance between us. Eyes still shut, he rubbed his face against one of my breasts – finding a nipple and capturing it in his mouth.

"Hmm," I groaned in enjoyment, lightly raking my nails across his scalp. "That feels good!"

"Uh ha," Dimitri agreed, without relinquishing my nipple.

I stretched out, pushing myself against my man. Hmm – looked like _all_ of Dimitri was awake…

Wrapping my hand around his erection, I started stroking Dimitri the way he'd taught me, pulling his foreskin firmly up over the head before pulling it back down again. My Russian God groaned, intensifying the suckling at my chest. With his lips tight around my nipple, he was using his tongue to tease the tightly puckered nub before sucking hard.

Releasing my nipple with an audible pop, he shifted his attention to my other breast, repeating his actions.

It was dark in the bedroom. With the doors shut and the curtains closed, the only light came from that which peeked around the side of the drapes. But it was enough.

"I want to lick you," Dimitri groaned.

I smirked in the darkness, not really surprised. Dimitri loved going down on me. It wasn't something we did all the time, mostly due to time constraints and the fact I could get a little noisy when he did it. But oh Vlad - the things that man could do with his tongue!

I scooted down the bed, preparing to roll onto my back.

"Nah ah. Kneel over my face, Roza," Dimitri suggested, his voice husky, giving me a sexy look as he moved into the middle of the bed.

Oh! This was new. Usually, he'd have me on my back, and I'd play with his hair as he pleasured me. But kneeling could be good, too.

"Face the wall," he directed as I moved up the bed, carefully positioning one knee on either side of his head.

I was a little embarrassed. Somehow this seemed more intimate than when we did it the other way. Not that Dimitri seemed to mind. As soon as I lowered myself to him, he attacked me with a growl, setting upon his task with relish, his hands on the outside of my thighs and butt, moving me to exactly where he wanted me. His head was right at the top of the bed, so I closed my eyes, leaning my forearms against the wall and resting my head on them. It felt different. He wasn't using his fingers like he usually did, but he could penetrate me deeper with his tongue this way. I could feel my body responding – my nether regions swelling as he teased me with his lips and tongue.

The build-up was slow, Dimitri's long licks running the length of my slit, finding my clit and teasing me there with feather-light licks. But just as it started getting really good, he stopped - moving back to lick at my entrance, thrusting his tongue in and out.

I was unbelievably wet, and it wasn't Dimitri's saliva. This constant teasing was making me extraordinarily excited – a fact evidenced by my jubilant panting. I couldn't get enough of this tantalizing torture.

I felt Dimitri take a hand off my butt. I turned to look over my shoulder, and he'd wrapped it around himself, stroking his cock as he licked me. And, if anything, that made me even more excited! I loved watching Dimitri pleasure himself. He was a bit embarrassed by it, so didn't do it in front of me often, but seeing him touch himself was a major turn on.

We continued like this, my cries of pleasure matched by Dimitri's enthusiastic moans.

I started rocking my hips slightly, the motion putting his tongue in all the places I needed it to be. I could feel my abundant juices on my love's lips and tongue, his hand increasing in speed as he touched himself. I was close to cumming, and Dimitri knew it. Focusing all his attention on my quivering nub, he was lapping and sucking at me as though his life depended on it.

He was close, too. He was growling in the back of his throat, his hips rocking in time as he beat off.

I was teetering on the edge, viscous excitement teeming from my channel and onto my lover's face when he nipped at my clit before penetrating me with his tongue. The two very distinct feelings were enough - and rather than falling I leaped into the abyss, the room echoing with my ragged squeals as I came all over Dimitri's face.

Slumped against the wall, I was drawing long shaky breaths, letting myself come back down to earth from wherever my release had jettisoned me. Dimitri was nuzzling at my inner thigh while his hand pumped furiously at his groin. Bracing myself against the wall, I moved off him, making my way down to his throbbing manhood.

His eyes opened for a moment, looking as I crouched beside him, ready to take his cock between my lips. A look of relief, love, lust and absolute abandon appeared on his countenance, and I only just got my lips around him before he let go with a mighty bellow, his seed pumping into my mouth.

He threw his head back into the pillows, his eyes shut firmly, wetness from my excitement all over his lips and cheeks. His hand fell from his manhood, slack onto the bed beside him, and he groaned through his climax; sexy, deep-throated noises that were almost animalistic.

I swallowed, stroking his oversensitive flesh once or twice before sucking the very last of what he had to give me. Licking my lips as he opened his eyes to watch me, I smiled.

"That was a nice way to wake up, Comrade!"

I lay beside him on the bed, waiting for him to say something. But he didn't. He just rolled me onto my back and started kissing me passionately. I could taste both of us in the kiss, and before I knew it, we were on to round two!

* * *

"I still can't believe we're here in our own place," I said as Dimitri went through the kitchen cupboards, calling out things for me to add to our shopping list. After finishing our lovemaking, we'd showered again and then spent a couple of hours unpacking and familiarizing ourselves with our new place.

They'd done a great job of it – all the basics we needed were here, but there were enough bits and pieces left to buy that we could put our own stamp on things.

I'd sold Dimitri on the idea of new workout gear by suggesting we should go for a uniform, of sorts. I'd argued we needed to look the part if we were going to convince these kids to respect us, and that buying workout wear in the Guardian colors of black and white would help them get used to seeing Guardians dressed that way. He'd even given in when I'd gently suggested we purchase him some additional casual wear. Fashion had never been of interest to him, so I was looking forward to making a few key selections, and retiring some of his older pieces.

By the time 6 pm approached we were both feeling hungry. While I would have loved to stay in our love bower for another meal, we both knew we should go to the Lodge for dinner.

I wasn't sure what they wore around here. Felicity had been in a skirt and top, and the other dude we'd seen had been in cargo shorts and a polo. The weather was warm, but Dimitri didn't have any suitable shorts, so he was wearing jeans and a button up, his hair tied neatly at his nape. I'd decided on a skirt and a nice shirt, my hair up in a high ponytail. With a bit of lip-gloss and mascara, hopefully, I wouldn't be over or underdressed.

Strapping my thigh-holster on for my stake, at 6.00 pm on the dot we closed the curtains, checked the doors were locked, switched on the porch light and started walking up to the Lodge. We walked side by side, keeping our conversation to neutral topics. There were a couple of kids walking in front of us, but they hadn't yet realized they were being followed.

I tsked lightly. Human hearing and senses really were less than those of Dhampir. Any Novice at St. Vlad's would have been able to hear us and would have turned to see who was behind them.

We were halfway to the Lodge when I heard others come out of the dorms behind us, following us up to dinner.

"That must be them!"

"Oh my God – he's huge!"

"She looks alright. Do you think she goes for humans?"

"Even if she does, I doubt she'd go for you, Tim."

"I've heard Guardians are little better than barbarians. Mindless thugs. I hope they know their table manners. I don't want to see them eating with their hands."

"I wouldn't let him hear you say that. Can you see those muscles? The guy is _built!"_

"I'm more interested in the way _she's_ built."

It was typical fifteen-year-old male banter, and I couldn't suppress a smile. They had no idea our hearing was much more acute than theirs, so we could hear every word they were saying.

"It's just like back at St. Vlad's," I muttered quietly to Dimitri.

"Yep. And once again I can't flatten the guys saying it because they're my students."

I giggled.

"You never wanted to flatten any of the guys at the Academy for looking at me, did you, Comrade?"

"Looking. Flirting. Commenting. Breathing," he said a little petulantly.

"You never told me that," I commented.

Dimitri shrugged.

"I'd just bust the more blatant ones for other things and send them around the oval thirty or forty times," he said, sounding rather pleased with himself. Guess that's why Shane Reyes still had a very healthy respect for Dimitri!

"Come on – let's do this," I said as we approached the stairs. "And remember your table manners, ok? No eating with your hands!"

"I'll do my best to remember," he replied dryly.

We walked in side by side looking at the tables. Most of them were filled with teens, but there were a couple of tables off to the side with slightly older people. The staff tables, by the look of it. I wouldn't say _everyone_ in the room stopped talking when they saw us, but there was a definite pause in many conversations when we appeared.

A head at one of the staff tables turned, and I was relieved to see Felicity. She put up her hand and waved us over.

"Oh good, you're here. I wasn't sure if you'd be dining with us or not."

"We thought we'd come down and say hello. Thanks for the lasagna and salad, by the way. It was really kind of you, and they were delicious," I said.

"I'm glad you liked," she replied with a kindly smile. "Let me introduce you to the other staff. Do you prefer titles and surnames or given names?"

"Um. What do you guys do?"

"Staff use first names for each other in private, titles and surnames in front of summer students and agents in training. With graduated agents, we'd usually use either first or surnames."

"That's similar to how we do it," I said, pleased to find more common ground. I was starting to think part of this mission would be showing them how much we already had in common as much as educating them on the differences. "My proper first name is Rosemarie, but I hate it. Everyone calls me Rose."

She nodded, gesturing around the table, introducing four or five field agents as well those with the titles librarian, technician, and engineer. It was the first hint the Alchemists worked in more than one role, but I suppose it made sense.

"So I'd call you Engineer McMahon in front of the students, and Angela when it's just other staff around, is that right?" I checked after the introductions had been made, asking a pretty woman in her early twenties. She was looking the least shocked of those at the table after Felicity, hence my question.

"Yes, that's right. And we'd call you Guardian Hathaway in front of others, but otherwise Rose?"

I nodded shyly.

"The food line is over there. Why don't you get something to eat and join us?" Felicity suggested.

Dimitri politely gestured for me to lead, and together we walked over to the servery area. There was a wide variety of food there, and I was pleased to see it looked to be of a high standard. A human server in her forties was standing behind the bain-marie dolling out serves of what each person indicated. She jumped back in surprise when she saw us, and it was apparent we made her very nervous.

"Oh! They didn't tell me you'd be here for dinner! I've only got what's here, but if you can't eat that, I can have a look out back and see what else we've got."

Dimitri smiled, turning on the charm.

"I assure you what is here looks delicious. In fact, I can guarantee we'll come back for seconds and maybe even thirds," he said looking at the dinner plates. They were on the smaller side. "Our metabolisms are a little different to yours, so we eat at least double what you would," he explained gently.

The server smiled uncertainly, taking in my admittedly trim figure. Guessing her thoughts, Dimitri laughed.

"And don't let her exterior fool you, Guardian Hathaway here puts away more than I do!"

I glared at him.

"So what if I do! There's no need to _tell_ everyone!" I said, rolling my eyes.

Dimitri chuckled, knowing I wasn't really upset.

"I have some larger plates if that would help?" The lady said, relaxing a little. "Might save you one trip back?"

"That's probably a good idea. We're trying to fit in, and coming up for thirds might stand out a little."

The woman gave him a knowing smile and disappeared out the back, returning in a moment with a couple of much larger plates. I wouldn't go _quite_ so far as to call them platters, but it was a close thing.

Dimitri and I then pointed to what we wanted. There was a huge variety of foods on offer, but we both liked the look of the roast, so we walked back to the table with plates piled high with sliced meat, baked vegetables, peas, beans, cornbread and lots of gravy.

I noticed a few odd looks as we sat back at the staff table, but no one commented. I sat beside Felicity, Dimitri on my other side at the end of the table.

"Um – Dhampir metabolisms are a lot faster than human ones, and we tend to exercise a lot as well, so we eat a lot."

"And you can eat regular food?" one of the engineers asked. Pete, I think.

Felicity shot him a look.

"Yeah. Well, Dimitri likes quinoa, so I don't know if that's normal. Give me a Big Mac any day," I joked, trying to put them at their ease. "But yeah we eat normal stuff. Dimitri's from Russia, so he eats lots of things from over there. I was brought up in Montana, so I'm more used to American stuff."

The guy nodded, but I could see I still hadn't fully answered his question.

"And we don't consume blood," Dimitri said, guessing his unspoken question.

"Ugh," I said screwing up my face. "Yeah. No blood. We eat just like you guys, just more of it."

"Ok, that's good to know," Felicity said with a meaningful look at the others. "If there's anything you particularly like, just tell us, and we can stock it."

My eyes lit up, and Dimitri rolled his.

"Rose loves chocolate donuts," he explained. "For breakfast."

"The choc-iced type?" Angela asked.

"Yep!" I said with a grin.

"That's ok. We have those," she replied.

"You might want to double the supply," Dimitri teased.

"Not _double,"_ I replied. "These days I limit myself to three. Sometimes four…"

"In a week?" Felicity checked.

"No. Everyday as part of breakfast."

Felicity looked at me incredulously, and Dimitri smirked, nodding in confirmation.

"I'll get Heidi to order an extra four for breakfast for you," she said, pulling out her phone and making a note.

The initial disquiet at our appearance had settled down, but it was still amusing listening to the comments and speculation about the two of us from the students and even the other table of staff members. More than one female was checking out my Russian God, although I was getting my fair share of attention. I was finishing my first plate when Dimitri asked about the meals.

"You said staff eat here or in their quarters?"

"Yes. Most of us eat breakfast here, and due to time constraints, we almost always have lunch here. For supervision purposes, there's a roster for staff to eat here. It works out to once a week, 6.00 – 8.00 pm, just so there are staff on hand if needed. But if you don't want to…"

"That's fine. Put us on the roster. It's probably easiest if you roster us together," I suggested politely.

"Ok, shall do," Felicity said with a smile. "We were told your weekends were your own, so I'll make it a weeknight."

"Yeah. They want us to fly out once a month on a Friday afternoon to Court, and we might have other things on the weekends," I said evasively, "but an evening Monday through Thursday should be fine."

"You're welcome to eat here other nights, too. Some of us eat here every night, or we'll grab a plate and head back to our quarters, but sometimes we'll cook back at the dorms, or someone will head into Meredith and pick up pizza."

"Are there any limitations about food or bringing things in from Meredith we need to know about?" I asked.

"Strictly no buying alcohol for underage students," she said. "And we have a very strict no students in staff accommodations rule. Sometimes we bend that one a bit as some of us have younger siblings here over summer or in training, but if you feel the need to have a student in the cottage, please clear it with me first. In terms of what you consume in your cottage, that's your business, but we'd prefer no one is obviously inebriated in front of students – even on your time off."

Dimitri gave her a reassuring nod.

"We have the same rules for Guardians at our Academies."

Talk turned to the cottage and Felicity was interested to know whether we liked it.

"I love it," I said honestly. "It's beautiful."

She smiled.

"It was the campmaster's quarters back when this was a summer camp. We didn't need it, so it hasn't been used in years. When we found out you guys were coming, we had it completely redone."

"Well, you did a brilliant job. It's perfect!" I grinned. "I hope our lot have put Sydney and…?"

"Tristan," Angela helpfully supplied.

"That's right. I hope they've put them up somewhere nice!"

"They have," Felicity confirmed. "They're in a house of their own at Court. Sydney said it's like a palace!"

"You know Sydney?" I asked. "I mean – we met her and Tristan the day before we left."

"Yeah – she's my cousin," Felicity explained. "Well - second cousin. Like I said – there's a lot of intermarrying, so a lot of us are related!"

"Cool. Well, we'll be meeting once a month when we go back to Court."

"Don't do it over a meal," Angela teased.

I looked at her quizzically.

"Sydney barely eats, and is funny about other people eating," she explained.

"She's not _that_ bad," Felicity said loyally, glaring at Angela.

"It's ok. Dhampir eat a _lot_ , so I can see it could be off-putting. We appreciate the heads up," I said lightly, smoothing over the moment between Angela and Felicity.

"Speaking of food – you ready for seconds?" I asked Dimitri, seeing his plate was clear, just like mine.

"I am if you are," he said lightly.

We were walking back to the food line when I heard one of the staff at the table comment, "Shit. They really _do_ put it away!"

* * *

The next morning, we joined the team for breakfast, getting the low down on the best places to go shopping. Felicity directed us to Manchester, a few minutes south of Concord where we'd landed.

As I thought, we were on the south side of Meredith. Pete explained there was a shortcut through to the I-93 that would cut fifteen minutes off our journey, but parts of it were on private roads.

"They're fine to travel. But you need to know they're there. I can program your GPS if you'd like?"

Dimitri and I readily agreed, so Pete trailed us to the SUV.

"Woah! That's some serious wheels!" he said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I know!" I smirked. "And I might even get to drive it sometime this century…"

"Doubtful," Dimitri said, half under his breath, but loud enough for Pete and I to hear.

"I heard that," I joked.

Once we had everything programmed, we set off, continuing south on the road we'd arrived on, before taking a series of turns down single lane roads. But as Pete had promised, after maybe ten minutes on the unmarked roads we were turning onto the I-93 and a lot closer to Concord that I'd expected.

Once we were in the mall, we quickly headed to Macy's. Felicity had insisted we buy our bed linen there and charge it to their account. We walked through the bedding section, but everything looked so formal and not really 'us.' I knew they expected us to buy stuff here, but it seemed silly to buy something we didn't like just for the sake of spending money because we were expected to!

"Oh! I like _that,"_ I said, pointing to a sofa similar to those in our house decorated with some cushions and a soft ombre throw.

"We have sofas," Dimitri teased, knowing I meant the throw and cushions.

"And you'll be sleeping there if you don't shut up," I said, taking the sting from my words by squeezing his hand.

I checked the prices, and while it seemed like a lot, it wasn't really _that_ dear.

I picked up the cushions and throw, taking them across to the service counter. I quickly explained we were here buying on an account and asked whether individual descriptions came up.

The lady was perplexed, so I spelled out our dilemma – the expectation we buy linen, and how there was nothing to our taste. She was happy to oblige, writing our cushion and throw purchases up as 'linen.'

"It _is_ just sheets, Roza," Dimitri argued. "Surely we can find something here?"

It was the first item on a rather lengthy list, and if I couldn't find what I wanted, he feared it was going to be a very _long_ day.

"Can we go to Target?" I checked. "It's just around the corner, and I think they'll have most of what we need."

Wanting to just get on with things, he readily agreed, and we took our cushions and throw back out to the car, putting them on the backseat before driving to Target.

" _This_ is more like it!" I said with a grin as we walked into Target five minutes later. We moved into the bedding section, and there, in the middle of the space, was the perfect bedding! Set up on one of the display beds, we both stopped and admired it.

"I can see that in the room," Dimitri said, actually showing interest in how we decorated the space.

"Me too. Let's get it."

The price was half that of some of the ones we'd considered at Macy's, so I was unconcerned when I grabbed two king quilt covers. The matching sheet sets were also well priced and looked good with the quilt, so I grabbed two of those, too.

"Two?" Dimitri asked. We didn't do laundry every day.

I grabbed another two sets, and he nodded. Neither of us liked sleeping on the dried remnants of our passion.

After that, we piled the trolley with a winter and a summer weight comforter, four pillows, some throw cushions, a blanket for when it was really chilly as well as a decorative throw for the end of the bed. Then we did the same for the second bedroom. It all added up, but I had ten-thousand to burn thanks to Abe.

Bedlinen selected, we went to the kitchen section, buying a few fry pans, baking tins, a couple of platters, serving tongs and the essential coffee machine. Dimitri was on his phone researching, trying to decide on the perfect model. There was one he kept eyeing wistfully, but in the end, he recommended another.

"Why not that one?" I asked, pointing to the one he'd been looking at.

"It's three times the price!"

His words said one thing, but his body language was saying something else.

"Good. If Abe can afford to dish out gift cards to everyone allocated at the same time as me, he can fork out for a decent coffee machine for us," I said, getting the box and loading it into our second trolley.

By the time we'd visited the active wear section, and electrical, plus picked up a few other bits and pieces that appealed, we had two overflowing shopping carts, and even I was starting to flag!

"Let's ring this up and then we can go back," Dimitri said with a sigh.

"We can't go home, yet," I exclaimed, looking at our list. "We still need shoes, and you need some more casual wear."

Dimitri sighed the tortured sigh of a man on a long shopping trip.

"It's lucky I love you," Dimitri grumbled, resigning himself to another couple of hours traipsing around the mall. Finding an open register, he steered his trolley toward it.

"I know," I said with a shit-eating grin. I was the luckiest woman in the world!


	74. Chapter 74

"Rose?" Lissa asked, picking up her phone at the allotted time.

"Yep!" I held the phone away from my ear as she squealed loudly in excitement. I could hear Christian muttering in the background, and then what sounded like a knock at the door and Alto's voice.

"Sorry – I've just got Rose on the phone," I heard Lissa explain to them before she came back to speak with me.

"I'm in the living room now – everyone else is still asleep or in another room. Tell me _everything!_ I hope it's not too horrible there?!"

"Liss – it's not terrible at all!"

"Start at the beginning!"

"Ok, ok," I laughed. I was lying on the spare room bed. It was 6.30pm Sunday night. So just before dinner for me, just before breakfast for Lissa.

"So… The plane was two hours late leaving, and then we had a few stops on the way, and we had to wait at each. By the time we got to New Hampshire, it was close to dawn. We flew into Concord, and there was a car waiting there for us. And you should see it, Liss! It's brand new and has _everything._ The thing is freaking amazing, and it's ours! Just for Dimitri and me! Not that I've driven it yet…"

"Dimitri prefers to drive?"

"Dimitri doesn't like sharing his toys," I corrected with a laugh.

"Anyway, we drove up to a little town called Meredith, which is kind of funny, where we were met by one of the people from here, and we followed them back to where we are. I'm not allowed to tell you exactly where we are, but we're on a lake in the general area of Meredith. The place we're at is an old summer camp – so think log buildings and all that."

I could feel Lissa's disdain through the bond. She thought it sounded terrible.

"It's really nice, I promise. They've done a lot of work on the property, so it's more like a fancy corporate camp than sweaty kids in open dorms," I explained.

She 'uh hmmphed' in understanding, so I continued.

"We got here and met with one of the people, and they showed us around before taking us to our quarters. And Liss? _It's gorgeous!_ They've put Dimitri and me in a two-bedroom cottage only yards from the lake. It's a little bit set apart from the other buildings and surrounded by trees, but you can see the lake through the sitting room, kitchen and our bedroom windows, plus there's a massive porch out the front. It's so peaceful! And the whole place has just been renovated, so there's a brand new kitchen and bathroom, new furniture and everything."

"Well that sounds alright," Lissa conceded.

"It is," I promised. "The place is just stunning. We were really tired after the traveling, so we showered and went to bed so we could start the switch from nights to days. We got up later in the afternoon and unpacked, and then made a list of the things we wanted to buy for the cottage and a few other things we needed and then we went to dinner with everyone."

"Everyone?"

"Yeah. I can't tell you everything, but basically, they have three groups of students come through here throughout the year. Fourteen to seventeen-year-olds – which is who is here at the moment, then seventeen to twenty-year-olds – they stay for about eight months, and then twenty to twenty-five-year-olds who stay a month or two. Dimitri and I are going to be training them all."

"So you're teaching? Like Dimitri did at the academy?"

"Kind of. They're human, so it's not as intense as Guardian training, but yeah we're doing fitness, self-defense and that sort of thing with them, as well as talking to them about Moroi and Dhampir culture."

"Shouldn't a _Moroi_ be educating them about that?" Lissa said a little sharply. I didn't want to read too much into it, but it sounded like Lissa was suggesting Dhampir were somehow not qualified to give a perspective on our culture and traditions.

"Probably," I said flippantly, refusing to rise to the bait, "but the whole teeth and blood thing kind of freaks them out - which is why her Majesty decided to send Dhampirs on this mission."

"Oh yes. Good point. Keep going."

"Anyway like I said, we went to dinner in the mess hall with everyone, and it was funny. I don't think they know our hearing is so much better than theirs, so we could hear a lot of what they were whispering. The staff are all pretty young, and they're mostly nice. They were a bit scared of us, at first, but it's getting better."

"So what have you been doing?"

"On Wednesday we got up early and went to Manchester. It's the biggest city in New Hampshire and around an hours drive from here. We needed to get some linen and towels and all that for the cottage, and I splurged and got a whole new workout wardrobe, and so did Dimitri. After the mission, and then Russia, everything we had was so worn. We'll be in workout wear most of the time, here, so it made sense to get new stuff. I got heaps of stuff for the house, too. It was fun – neither of us has had a proper place to decorate before, so we went to town! Abe gave me a gift card to celebrate my allocation, so we used that."

"Ohh! How much did he give you?" Lissa asked curiously. She knew I'd never had any real money of my own, so was inquisitive about my windfall.

"More than he should have," I laughed, wanting to keep the particulars to myself.

"Wednesday afternoon we came back and unpacked all the new stuff, and then we went for a hike to check out the property and a swim in the lake. It's just so beautiful, Liss. I can't describe how pretty it is. It's like living in a dream!"

"And then what?"

"Well, we started our classes on Thursday morning. We have three two-hour classes on weekdays, and once a week we're rostered to be in the dining hall from 6.00 – 8.00 pm but we eat dinner then anyway so it's no big deal. But other than that, our time is our own. I've never had so much free time, and it's a bit weird, but it's fun."

"Aren't you getting bored?"

"Not yet - we haven't really had time. When we were shopping on Wednesday, we picked up some books on physical training for humans, so we're putting together a teaching curriculum from that. And we have cable here, so we've been watching TV too. Dimitri's discovered the Food Network, and keeps making lists of things he wants to cook! He made homemade pasta last night!"

"And what about your classes?"

"We have thirty in each class, but we've been splitting them into groups of fifteen and Dimitri is taking one and me the other. We're still getting an idea of their overall fitness, and working out what's reasonable to expect from them. So we're playing lots of games and that while we work out what we need to teach them."

"Isn't that kind of dull?"

"Nah it's really fun, actually. You know how much I love physical training," I said, starting to feel pissed off. Why did Lissa have to run everything down when I was obviously so happy?

"So like I said, we started our classes on Thursday. We teach 8.00 to 10.00 am, 10.15 to 12.15 pm, lunch is 12.30 to 1.30 pm then the last class is 1.45 to 3.45 pm. We've been eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the mess hall on the weekdays, but on Saturday we went into Meredith and did some grocery shopping so we can have some stuff here in the kitchen when we want to. In fact, that's what Dimitri is doing now – he's in the kitchen making dinner!"

"Aren't you sick of being together all the time?" she asked, yet again being a downer. "I mean you're living _and_ working together."

I sighed.

"I love it, Lissa. Dimitri and I have had to compromise about how we feel for so long. Being together all the time is bliss."

"Well I guess you haven't had time to miss us at all," she said with a distinctly bitter tone.

Ahha. So _that's_ what this was about!

"Don't be silly. I miss you guys like crazy! I really really wish you could be here to share this place with us. But I _do_ love it here, Liss. Dimitri and I have our own place and are getting the chance to lead a normal life together. It's more than we ever dreamed was possible. But just because I love it here, doesn't mean I don't miss you," I promised.

"Are you sure? You just sound so happy…" Lissa observed sadly.

"I _am_ happy. But I still miss you. Like you when you went to Court with Christian, and I went on the mission," I explained, trying to put it into a context she could relate to. "You were happy to be at Court and get a chance to spend all your time with Christian, but you still missed me."

I tapped into the bond and could sense her considering what I'd said.

"I get it," she admitted a little sheepishly.

"Good," I said, glad she understood where I was at, meanwhile pulling her darkness into myself. _That_ should help her attitude a little.

"So like I said, we checked out Meredith. It's really pretty but very small. But there's a Walmart not too far away, so we went there and shopped. I didn't realize, but Dimitri had never been to a Walmart before!"

I sniggered, remembering my Russian God's reaction. Lissa laughed, too. She used to hate going shopping at Walmart when we were on the run, so she understood his pain.

"Did he let you buy pizza pockets?" she asked, referring to my go-to staple when we were fifteen and on the run.

"Yeah. But only one packet!"

"The bastard!" she teased. "So how are things going with you two?"

I smiled. Things were going wonderfully!

"Good. Really good. We haven't let on we're a couple to everyone here, yet. We're going to do that slowly over time. But we're both enjoying having a place of our own. Everywhere else we've stayed together we've shared space with other people. Here's it's just us, and we're kind of getting used to living together. Dimitri's a lot less inhibited when it's just us two."

"Like walking around the house naked uninhibited?" Lissa teased.

Well actually, there _had_ been a bit of that. But Dimitri was a lot more passionate now we had our privacy. We were taking pleasure in one another more than ever, but I'd noticed my man was also a lot more vocal and really let himself go now he knew we weren't going to be overheard. And I freaking loved it!

I giggled.

"Let's just say we've christened pretty much every flat surface in the cottage, _including_ the washing machine!"

"The _washing machine?!"_ Lissa gasped in consternation, although through the bond there was a definite hint of envy.

"Yep," I giggled. "I was loading sheets into the machine and Dimitri came in, and one thing led to another…"

It had been hotter than hell. Dimitri had been in the kitchen watching me through the door into the pantry and laundry. I'd been intentionally bending over so he could see my ass – wiggling it to see if he'd notice. Well, he'd noticed, all right! Before I knew what was happening, Dimitri had me pushed up against the washing machine, one hand down my panties, the other under my shirt playing with my breasts. Then he'd pulled his manhood out of his pants, and lowered my sweatpants and panties just enough that he could slip into me from behind. Once he was in place, he'd pounded into me until I could barely form a coherent sentence as I leaned over the washing machine.

"Wow. Well, I guess I know why you have no free time…" Lissa teased.

"We don't spend _all_ our time doing that," I said. Just a lot of it, I mentally added. "We've also been running, swimming and all that. We've got a couple of fireplaces in the cottage - one in the sitting room and the other in our bedroom - so Dimitri has been chopping wood ready for winter, and he's also drawing up plans for a carport he wants to build for the car."

"He likes to stay active, doesn't he?"

"He does. We both do. That's one of the things that makes us work," I explained.

"So what are the people like? Are they treating you ok?"

"They're ok. Some of them are a bit wary, but overall they're more curious. I mean, they've read about Moroi and Dhampir, but meeting one in real life is another thing. At the end of each workout session, we do a Q and A and let them ask us questions. Most of it's like what you'd expect, but on Friday one of the guys asked if Moroi and Dhampir had sex the same way as humans. I thought Dimitri was going to blow a gasket!"

"What did you say?!" Lissa hissed trying to contain her laughter.

"I just said I believed all the fundamentals were the same…"

The two of us tittered.

"So what have you done today?" Lissa continued.

"Dimitri was so sweet; he woke me with breakfast in bed. Then we got dressed and ran around the edge of the lake and went swimming. After lunch, we did some report writing for the Guardian Council. We're due back at Court in four weeks, so we figured if we write a bit each week, we'll have everything ready when we have to report in."

"Do you know your flight times?"

"Yeah we're flying out 5.30 pm, so we'll be there by the start of your day."

"But you'll be used to day schedule?"

"We can make it work. We can stay up late, and if you get up early, we can still spend time."

"Ok," Lissa agreed, carefully jotting down the dates of our visits back to Court. "It will be easier once we're at Lehigh, because then we'll be used to a daytime schedule, too."

We kept chatting, tentatively setting a time in six weeks for us to go to St. Vlad's and the Dragomir house. It had to be done, and she needed me to be there for it.

"Are you sure it's ok? It's not too much for you?" she asked.

"I want to be there."

"Dimitri won't mind?"

Not if he wants sex between now and then, I thought with a wicked grin.

"Not at all. He wants to see you guys, too. So tell me – what's going on there? How are Meredith, Eddie, Celeste, and Stan getting on?"

"So far so good," Lissa replied. "Meredith is great, and she and Celeste seem to get along really well. She doesn't have a lot to do, yet, because we're at Court, but she's getting used to everything. Eddie and Guardian Alto have had a couple of moments. I know Guardian Alto is the senior, but he likes to remind Eddie of that all the time. Christian said it gets a bit much at times."

"How's Christian coping with having Guardians?" I asked. While Lissa had grown up with Guardians around, thanks to his parents, personal Guardians were a new experience for Christian.

"He's adjusting," she laughed. "When Guardian Alto gets a bit much, he sends him on an errand or gets him to guard Tasha," she whispered conspiratorially. "We're both kind of looking forward to Lehigh. He'll mostly be on night shift then…"

"While you're asleep!" I finished for her, laughing outright.

It's just as well I didn't end up guarding Christian. If Alto and I had to work together, I would have murdered him in the first week. Eddie must have the patience of a Saint.

"So where's your Dad gone?" Lissa asked. "It's ok; I won't tell Tasha. Although she seems to have got the message Pavel isn't interested."

"I didn't know he'd left," I said with a pang. I knew he had planned to leave Court once I had, but I was surprised he hadn't at least texted a farewell. "You're the first person I've spoken with since we left."

"You rang me first?" she said, and this time I could tell she was touched.

"Of course! You're my best friend! We're going to call Dimitri's family after dinner, and I'll call Mom and Baba tomorrow."

"So… what are you planning to do with all this free time?" Lissa asked playfully. Now I'd reassured her I still missed her; she seemed happy to discuss this strange new life of mine.

"Well… we're thinking about going to New York next weekend," I said, holding out the phone as Lissa squealed again. "It's a five-hour drive, so we're planning to leave straight after class Friday afternoon. We should be there by 9 pm. We'll stay Friday and Saturday nights, spend Saturday checking out some of the sights, and leave midday Sunday, so we're back in time for work on Monday."

"It's strange hearing you talk about a _job,"_ Lissa murmured.

"I know. It's weird _thinking_ about a job," I replied. "Usually being a Guardian is a twenty-four-seven sort of thing, and you fit what you can of your own life in around what your charge needs. I'm still a Guardian – it's just weird being in a role where I have time for what _I_ want, too."

I'd been exploring my thoughts out loud, but shut up when I realized despite being my best friend, Lissa was still a Moroi, and for a long time, we'd planned for her to be my charge. She might be offended by these sort of ponderings.

Neither of us said anything for a moment.

"I'm glad you have this opportunity," Lissa finally remarked. "You deserve a chance to live your life."

"Thanks, Liss. And it's not forever. Once our allocation is over, Dimitri and I will try to be reallocated to you and Christian," I said, trying to reassure her.

"Who knows where we'll all be in five years," she said with a shaky laugh.

"I know you'll still be my best friend," I proclaimed loyally.

"Like you'll still be mine."

* * *

"You're very quiet, ангел. Everything ok with Lissa?"

"Yeah. We've made arrangements for that trip to St. Vlads and the Dragomir estate. Lissa is going to fly us out Friday afternoon from Concord. It will be a busy weekend, but I need to be there with her for it."

Dimitri nodded, "It will be nice to see Alberta and the others there again."

He was watching me with concern as I ate the laksa noodle soup he'd spent the last hour making. We'd spent Friday night watching a Malaysian cooking show on the Food Network, and Dimitri thought he'd give the laksa a try. It was really good, and I told him so.

"What's troubling you, Roza?" he asked after I again lapsed into silence. It was impossible to hide anything from the man – he knew me too well!

I sighed.

"Dimitri – where do you see us in five years time? After this allocation ends?"

"I'm not sure. Together, but maybe with charges?"

"How can we go from this," I said, gesturing around me with my hand, "to standing at the side of a room, watching other people live their lives and fitting our needs around theirs?"

It was a rhetorical question. I didn't expect Dimitri to have an answer, but I needed to let him know the direction of my thoughts.

"Roza? _Aнгел?_ We'll make the decisions that work for us. Yes, we're Guardians -but we're Rose and Dimitri first and foremost. Time and time again, we've proven we can do _anything_ as long as we're together. We'll make it work – I promise you."

I gave him a loving smile, reaching out to caress his hand as we sat opposite each other at the table.

"Let's ring Mama, Babushka and the girls. I promised them we'd call tonight, and I don't want to disappoint. You'll feel better once we've talked with them."

I smiled and nodded, taking our empty bowls through to the kitchen and loading them into the dishwasher. Dimitri followed, wrapping his arm around my waist from behind.

"Promise me we'll make it work, Comrade?" I asked. "No matter what happens? I can cope with almost anything as long as you love me and we're together."

"I promise, Roza," Dimitri crooned, dropping a delicate kiss on the side of my neck. "No matter who, no matter what – they'll never tear us apart."

 **The End**


	75. Chapter 75

**Five Years Later**

"Papa! I wanted to wear the pwink dress!"

"Patrice, honey. The one you're wearing is every bit as nice…"

"But I wanted pwink!"

"Sorry, everyone… she's in the terrible twos…"

"Except she's nearly three now," Christian joked.

"First there are the terrible twos, then she's a threenager, then there's the fu…"

" _Little ears,_ Stan!" Tasha admonished. "Come sit on Momma's lap, poppet."

We were standing outside a meeting room in the palace where all our family and friends had gathered.

"Whose stupid idea was this anyway?" I grumbled.

"I believe it was yours," Dimitri replied indulgently. "You wanted to get it all over and done with at the same time."

"You shouldn't have listened to me."

Dimitri wrapped his arms around my waist, leaning to brush his lips gently across mine.

"Are they all there?" I sighed.

Dimitri opened the door and peered in.

"Yes, they're all there now, ангел."

"Ok. Let's do this."

It was the day before Christmas. Our five-year allocation had run out months ago, but we'd agreed to stay on until the Christmas break, which was now upon us.

I was excited to see everyone. I hadn't had a chance to see my family and friends in a few months, Dimitri making the last three trips back to Court while I stayed in New Hampshire. But we were here, and it was time.

Opening the door, fully, the two of us stepped inside. Dimitri was right – everyone was here. Lissa and Christian with Alto, Tasha and their daughter Patrice. Baba and Pavel were here, as was Mom. Adrian was there holding hands with Sydney. Meredith, Celeste, and Kirk were also there in uniform, Eddie standing awkwardly to one side in casual wear.

"Hey everyone!" I said brightly.

"Darling! It's so good to see you!" Baba said, looking at me carefully.

"Thanks, Baba," I said nervously, letting Dimitri take my large coat from me. And that's when the shit hit the fan.

"PREGNANT!?" Mom screamed, looking from me to Dimitri. And then she launched herself at Dimitri via the most direct route possible - directly across the highly polished timber meeting table.

"You let someone do that to her?! I'm gonna kill you, Belikov!" she hissed, scrabbling for traction while Abe, and then Pavel, held her back by her belt. It would have been funny had it not been so sad.

" _Sit down_ Janine!" Abe hissed, he and Pavel hauling her back to her seat. He didn't sound happy. In fact, he sounded even angrier than Mom was.

Shit!

"Is it true? Are you pregnant?" Lissa gasped in surprise, grasping Christian's hand. They'd married three years ago, and I knew they'd been trying for a baby ever since. More than anything, I'd been worried about how she'd take this news – especially since I'd hidden my pregnancy for so long.

I nodded, smacking Dimitri's hands away as he tried to lead me to a chair.

"I'm pregnant, not disabled," I grumbled under my breath, flopping into the chair he held out for me.

"Now listen up. I've got a bladder the size of a walnut these days, so I am only going to go through this once, alright?"

There were nods, or in some cases belligerent looks and grudging silence, so I started.

"First of all, no - this was not an accident or the result of some one night stand with a Moroi. I'm five months along, and Dimitri is the biological father of our baby."

I paused to let that sink in for a moment. My mother turned to look at my father in surprise, and he shrugged, gesturing for her to continue listening.

"So how did this happen?" Christian asked in awe.

"Well, Sparky… when a man and a woman love each other very much, sometimes they have 'special cuddles' and if they're very lucky…"

"Roza!" Dimitri growled, giving me a look.

I poked my tongue out at Sparky.

"Alright - as you know, we've been working with the Alchemists for the last five years. During this time we've got to know about their operations pretty well. As well as the field agent training we've been primarily involved with; they have other divisions such as record management, engineering as well as science and medical divisions. They're working on a number of things to counter Strigoi and keep humans ignorant of our world. They know one problem is the falling number of Guardians, and as part of their research they've discovered a way for Dhampir to reproduce together."

There was a stunned silence. This was almost the stuff of fairy tales. Dhampir could not reproduce with other Dhampir. End of story.

"There's a lot of science behind it, but in a nutshell, Dhampir conceptions have always been possible, however soon after conception the mother's immune system identifies the cells as foreign and attacks them, causing the pregnancy to fail. This always happens within hours of fertilization, so no one ever realized conception was possible."

I looked around, and everyone was following along, so I continued.

"About a year ago, Dimitri and I were made aware of this information, and we were given the option to be the first to trial the medication they believed would make a Dhampir/Dhampir pregnancy possible. We'd never considered children of our own because we didn't think it was a possibility. We talked it over for a couple of months, and decided to go for it."

"Which is when you got married," Abe supplied, his quick mind filling in the blanks.

"That's right," Dimitri said, grasping my hand where it lay on the tabletop. "We wanted our child to have the secure foundation of coming from parents in a loving, committed relationship." He said it without rancor, but Dimitri and I were both the result of difficult relationships. We wanted our child to know we were together and loyal.

We'd married in a small ceremony at the chapel at St. Vladimir's in June. Very low key, it was close family and friends only, the Belikovas sadly unable to make it. We'd had a dawn ceremony followed by dinner and dancing, and then Dimitri and I had retired to our accommodations. If anyone wondered why we'd chosen to spend our first days as a married couple in a run-down cabin on the edge of campus, they hadn't asked.

"After we were married, I started to take the tablets from the Alchemists," I explained. "I needed to take them for a month or so to build up an antibody response. Basically, the tablets helped desensitize my body so that if a conception were to occur, my body would not attack the fetus. When the time was right, we started trying, and obviously, we were successful."

"Successful in the first month? Way to go Belikov… Stud!" Adrian said lewdly.

Dimitri was blushing but still looked a little pleased with himself.

"Ha!" I laughed. "Hardly a surprise, I just had to look at him sidewise, and he'd be on top of me," I joked giving my sexy man a wink. It had been a whole month of original sin.

Mom growled.

" _Not_ helping with your mother," Abe muttered, a hand on her forearm in reassurance or restraint – I wasn't sure which.

I looked up and saw Christian looking downcast, and I could have kicked myself. Of course hearing about our pregnancy would be hard for him, too. I toned it right back down.

"We were very lucky to be successful in the first month, but as you can imagine with so many unknowns, they've been keeping a close eye on me."

"Have they not let you leave?! Is _that_ why we've not seen you in months?" Lissa asked in alarm.

"Not at all," I reassured everyone. "The Alchemists have been amazing, and I've been getting the very best of care. As well as their own specialists, they've been flying Dr. Olendzki in to attend to me because I trust her. It was actually at her Majesty's request I stayed away once I started showing. She knew about this before we decided to try. She's asked me to only mention the pregnancy to our very closest family and friends," I continued.

That earned a couple of raised eyebrows. In fact, everyone, bar Sydney, looked surprised. She'd also known about this from the start.

"Firstly, there's no knowing how a Dhampir/Dhampir pregnancy will turn out. Every test, so far, has been normal, but the baby could have some sort of disability, or we could miscarry. Her Majesty didn't want news of this to become widespread until we know if the pregnancy was successful and that the baby is a normal Dhampir."

I rubbed my belly fondly, meeting Dimitri's eye and smiling. He leaned forward and kissed me tenderly, putting his other hand on my bump.

"There's also the issue of what this development could do to our society. There aren't enough Guardians, so increasing the number of Dhampir may result in increasing the pool from which to draw Guardians. Then again, male Dhampir typically become Guardians as there is little chance of them become fathers and having a family. If that changes, it might cause even fewer Dhampir to become Guardians."

"You can't keep this sort of information from us," Eddie said, pushing off against the wall in agitation. "It's _our_ lives! We deserve some sort of say in how we want to live!"

"I agree, Eddie," I said immediately. "But I also believe we need to be sure babies conceived this way are born _normal._ Dhampir parents get little enough support already. What happens if they release this drug and there are hundreds of Dhampir babies born with a disability? What if Dhampir take off into the human world to have families and live with humans, and in a generation, some scientist finds out there's this sub-species who are different, and then they discover our world?! We need to be careful because while this is wonderful, it could also tear our world apart."

"That's easy for you to say," Eddie said shaking his head. "You're already pregnant."

"Yes – and she spends more nights than I'd like to mention crying, terrified there might be something wrong with our baby," Dimitri snapped, staring Eddie down. "We're Dhampir, too, Eddie. No one is trying to conceal anything. Her Majesty just wants to make sure a Dhampir/Dhampir baby can be carried to term, and the baby is healthy before we start handing out tablets to every Dhampir female."

Eddie backed down, murmuring his apologies.

"Eddie? We're not just doing this for us. Part of Dimitri and I doing this was about giving other Dhampir the option to do more with their lives. We're not the enemy - but I agree we need to make sure it's safe before this news become widespread."

He nodded, and I gave him a wan smile. I knew his situation at the moment, and why this might be more of an issue for him just now.

"Which leads us to our next point. Roza and I are leaving for Russia on Boxing Day," Dimitri explained. "We're going to have the baby there."

Mom growled, and Lissa gasped.

"We haven't seen Dimitri's family in five years," I justified. "And we need to go somewhere where there won't be too many questions. We plan to go over there for the remainder of my pregnancy and stay until the baby is around two years old. Her Majesty is putting me on paid Maternity Leave for a couple of years, and Dimitri will be working with the Alchemists in Russia implementing some of the changes we've introduced here."

My eyes met Lissa's, and she'd started crying. Accessing the bond I could tell part of it was jealously that Dimitri and I were pregnant while she and Christian had been trying to fall pregnant for so long. But a much larger part was disappointment I'd be away from her even longer. She'd had her heart set on me returning to Court – but Russia was even further away than New Hampshire.

"I'm sorry, Liss," I said, tears in my own eyes. "But Russia just feels right. Maybe you could come visit – I know you said you wanted to come back sometime?"

What wasn't said between us was 'before you are Queen.' Tatiana was grooming her to be the next Monarch, so any travel for pleasure would need to take place before Tatiana abdicated. And there was no knowing just how close that day was.

"Well. Everything else aside, let us be the first to say congratulations," Tasha said with a huge smile smoothing over the tension in the room. "And very best wishes. I won't lie – the twos are a challenge," she said looking at Patrice indulgently, "but we wouldn't change it for the world, would we Stan?!"

Alto's gave his wife a besotted grin, his hand on their daughter's raven hair. It had shocked _everyone_ when a year after his allocation to Christian, he and Tasha had gone to her nephew and asked him to release Stan so he could become Tasha's Guardian. Apparently, during the time they'd shared at the Ozera house, and then during Christian and Lissa's frequent visits to Court, a secret romance had blossomed between them. The two had married a month after he became her Guardian, and two weeks after their first anniversary – a week after Christian and Lissa's completely over the top Royal wedding – Patrice Erica Marjorie Ozera Alto was born. The apple of both her parent's eye.

"Thank you, Tasha. Stan," Dimitri said handsomely, answering for us both. "Rose and I are excited but also nervous. But this is something we both want very much," he said, his eyes moving across to my parents and lingering there meaningfully.

"Darling! Belikov! Your mother and I are delighted for you!" Abe responded, giving my mother a look.

"That's right," my mother said, dissolving into tears. "My baby is having a baby! I'm going to be a Nanna!"

Abe put his arm around her, and not for the first time over the last five years I wondered what, if anything, was going on between them. But since they seemed unwilling to talk about it, I didn't pry.

We accepted best wishes and congratulations before Dimitri brought everyone back to attention.

"Thanks so much everyone. We know this is a shock, and I'm really sorry for that. I hope you understand why we need to keep this quiet."

After that, talk turned to Christmas dinner, Abe volunteered his large house for the occasion, inviting everyone present. Adrian and Sydney declined. They were going to attempt Christmas with his family, but Adrian warned that at the first sign of disrespect to Sydney, they'd be over to Abe's to join us. The only other to decline was Eddie. Leaving the others to chat, I walked over to him.

"I thought you'd be gone by the time we got here," I said gently.

"I'd planned to – but when I heard you were coming I decided to stay an extra day or two, so I could say a proper goodbye."

"I'm glad you did," I said, dissolving into tears. "I get why, I really do, and I wish you luck. Don't be a stranger, ok? I couldn't bear to lose you, too."

"He would have been so proud to be an uncle…"

"I know. Uncle Duckie," I said with a smile but crying even more. "That just means Uncle Eddie has to be around, ok? Keep in touch. If you need help call me, ok?" I pleaded, pulling him to me for an awkward hug.

"I will," he promised.

"How is Meredith?" I asked.

"Still upset. She knows why I need to go, but we still love each other," he explained sadly.

"Maybe it doesn't have to be the end?" I suggested.

"I can't ask her to wait."

"Then don't. But when you're ready maybe come back for her?"

"I'd love that," he whispered, his face tortured. "I'd love it if Meredith and I could have a proper life together. Maybe even have a child?" he added, looking at my bump.

"Then aim for it," I counseled.

"She'll have someone else by then," he said pessimistically.

"She might," I agreed. "But she might not. Do what you need to do, Eddie. But don't forget you have friends. If you want to, you can make it happen."

We embraced again, and I could see Meredith looking but not looking from the corner of her eye. I gave her a sympathetic smile. She was putting a good face on it, but Eddie resigning as a Guardian to move into the human world to try and find an apprenticeship as a carpenter was killing her.

"When do you leave?" I asked.

"At daybreak," he said, his voice hitching.

"Stay in touch," I demanded.

He nodded, and then I walked over to see my parents.

"Can I?" Mom asked, looking at my belly and reaching out toward it.

"Ok," I said warily, wondering how Mom had gone from throwing herself across a boardroom table to scratch my husband's face off to wanting to touch my bump. She placed her hand on it carefully, her face lighting up with wonder.

"I'm sorry for my reaction, Rosemarie. I just assumed he'd let something _happen_ to you…"

"Dimitri would never let anything happen to me. _Us,"_ I corrected, hand on my belly.

"Of course he wouldn't," Abe said more to Janine than he did to me. "He's a good man and husband, and he'll be a good father."

"But _Russia?!"_ Mom wailed. "It's so far away!"

"Well no one's stopping you visiting," I snapped. I was tired, and that meant I was getting irritable. "You haven't taken more than a day or two for a vacation in what… _twenty years?!_ Surely you can take a month or two off?!"

Abe shot Mom a look that suggested this wasn't the first time this had been suggested to her. Their eyes locked, and I could see they were having a conversation without words, the same way Dimitri and I often did.

"If your father visits, perhaps I could come for a little while," she conceded carefully.

"I'd really like that," I said, pretending not to notice my father's pleased expression. Mom and I had come a long way in the last five years, and while I suspected Olena would be of a lot more practical assistance, I was having my first baby – so I also wanted my Mom!

"Baba? Eddie is thinking of leaving our world to try and get a carpentry apprenticeship somewhere. He wants to work designing and remodeling buildings, and he's got quite a talent for it. Carpentry would be such a waste, though - he got really high academic scores when he was in College with Christian and would have gone on to be an Architect, had he been Moroi," I hinted.

Abe looked at me in confusion.

"A little _investment_ in his education wouldn't hurt," I spelled out. "A word to the admissions board and a loan? A _fair_ one," I quickly stipulated. "Or perhaps a scholarship for a promising Dhampir student to attend one of the Moroi universities? You'd be a visionary, Baba. The first Moroi to invest in Dhampir further education? You'd love to stick it to all those indulged Royals by making them sit side by side with a Dhampir who wasn't there to guard them - and I'm sure you could spin it to be a tax write off – it might cost you nothing?"

My father looked at me, but I could see he was working the angles in his head. He nodded, then kissed me on the cheek before moving across to speak with Eddie. I'd done all I could, so I hoped it worked out.

I waddled across to Lissa and Christian. She had her mental barriers up tight, and an even tighter expression on her face; both indications she was hurting.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I hugged her. "I know it hurts and I'm sorry, Liss. You don't have to hide it."

"I'm so happy for you," she said as the tears started.

"I know you are, Auntie," I whispered. "But it's ok to feel angry about your situation, too."

"How did you know?" she whispered. She'd never confided in me about their struggles, so I'd never mentioned it.

"Lissa – we've been best friends for almost twenty years. I know you, and I know you will be a brilliant mother when the time comes."

"What if it _doesn't_ come?" she asked, voicing her greatest fear.

"I think it will," I said, wrapping my arm around her. "And when it does, I'll be there to help you through it," I promised.

* * *

"Are you ok, Roza?"

"I'm ok, Comrade. Tired," I smiled.

"It went well," he said, tilting his head to one side and looking at me.

"It did. Well – once Mom calmed down!"

It was cold out, and I had my thick shapeless coat on. We were holding hands and wandering through court, taking the long route back to my father's place. He'd insisted we stay until we flew out to Russia the day after tomorrow – and since dealing with a lumpy Guardian dormitory bed while pregnant was beyond me, I'd readily agreed.

"Rose! I mean Guardian Hathaway!"

I stopped and turned, seeing a face I'd not seen in over five years.

"Artyom!" I said with a smile.

"Guardian Hathaway! It's lovely to see you! I didn't know you were at Court? Last I heard you were in New Hampshire?" Artyom looked at me before his eyes flicked to Dimitri. "And Guardian Belikov? A pleasure to see you again, too."

"It's Guardian Belikova now," I said with a small smile, holding up my hand to show the plain silver band that was my wedding ring. "We were married in June."

"Oh! I hadn't heard. Many congratulations!" he said, looking beyond stunned. Dimitri and I were openly a couple and had been for four years at Court, but I guess Artyom must have missed the scandal of Dimitri and I announcing we were together.

"Thank you," Dimitri said, dropping an arm around me possessively. Some things never changed.

"Yes, thank you," I reiterated. "We're very happy! So what are you doing here?"

Artyom's face darkened.

"I don't suppose you heard about Elizaveta? It was three months ago? A random attack. She saved two of the three Moroi she was with, but…"

I stepped forward and hugged him.

"I'm so very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," he said, pulling himself together. "She did everything right…"

"Sometimes that's the way it happens," Dimitri remarked sadly.

"So you're here for…?"

"A new allocation," he said with a sad smile. "After Veta, I just need to be away from Russia," he explained.

"I understand," Dimitri said. _"I was the same after I lost my first charge,"_ he said switching to Russian.

" _Does it ever get easier?"_ Artyom asked. _"It feels like my whole world has fallen apart."_

" _You will never forget, but in time your heart remembers more happiness than sadness,"_ Dimitri explained. _"When that happens, don't fight it. She loved you – she would want you to be happy."_

" _I don't want to forget her…"_

" _You never will. You don't need to be sad to remember her. I still think about my charge every day. You will remember your sister, too. Don't fight it. Let yourself grieve then move on."_

Artyom nodded, shaking Dimitri's hand.

"Are you two based at Court, now?"

"No. We're just here for Christmas," I explained, giving him no indication that after five years I was decent at speaking Russian so had understood their words. I'd also been careful to keep my tummy away from him when we hugged. With my large coat concealing my bump, he had no idea I was expecting. "We're on our next mission in a few days."

"Something exciting?" he asked.

I looked at Dimitri with a big grin.

"Something very exciting," I confirmed.

Giving Artyom a final hug, Dimitri and I wished him the best before continuing to Baba's.

"You know – with Eddie leaving, Artyom could be a good replacement as Christian's other Guardian…"

"Roza!" Dimitri groaned in exasperation. "You have to stop mothering everyone you meet! Sometimes you have to make your peace with the way things are! Soon we'll have our own baby for you to focus on."

"I just want everyone to be as happy as we are," I explained, stopping and turning to face my Russian God. The first snowflakes of the season were gently kissing our skin as we embraced, but all I could see were the chocolate brown eyes of the man I loved.

"And I love you for it," he crooned. "I love you Roza Belikova!"

* * *

 _Thanks for joining me on another fun filled ride!_

 _I have been getting requests for extensions/continuations for my stories and it's honestly too hard to decide which. So if you fancy a say in what you'd like to see more of, head on over to my Facebook page to vote on the Reader's Choice Poll! There's also been something hidden in every chapter of this work. The first to correctly guess what it is, you get 10 votes in the reader's choice poll!_

I also have some very very exciting news coming up soon about my non Fanfiction writing - more about that on the Facebook page soon!

* * *

Never Tear Us Apart - VA Fanfiction  
Swimming the Same Deep Waters  
www facebook com / swimmingthesamedeepwaters


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